Self Esteem has confessed she’s found it “difficult” making the follow-up to her acclaimed, Mercury Prize-nominated second LP ‘Prioritise Pleasure’.
The 37-year-old singer – whose real name is Rebecca Lucy Taylor – has reflected on embarking her solo career in her thirties and admits being “burnt out” hasn’t helped her creativity levels, however, she believes she is more than halfway through her third studio effort.
She told Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw on the ‘Sidetracked’ podcast: “I think I’m 70 per cent through making the difficult third album.
“No one has ever been that interested in what I’m about to do. The last album had its little moment, so I’ve got a natural amount of stress from that.”
She continued: “I used to have a very clear idea about what I wanted… Now the idea isn’t that clear. I don’t know if it’s because I’m burnt out or because I’m 37.
“My mate the other day was like ‘Is there anyone who has done what you’ve done?’, and I was like ‘That’s the problem, in a way’. Everyone else did it in their 20s so there’s no blueprint. At 40 most women disappear, and I’m just getting started.”
The former Slow Club star – who released ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, the follow-up to 2019 debut ‘Compliments Please’, in 2021 – teased the new record is “horribly honest” and admitted she ditched plans for a “poppy crossover” LP.
She said: “I’m all about ‘the universe is in charge and we’re not’ – all of that. I’m on that train now, so I’m just trying to believe my own thoughts basically. We’ll wait it out and it’ll come.
“I am excited. It’s not what you think though. I think everyone thinks I’m going to do a good, poppy crossover. I did want to try and do that but it wasn’t possible.
“I made quite a complicated listen. It’s horribly honest. It’s too honest.”