Self Esteem @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 6 Mar

Self Esteem’s latest appearance in Glasgow is – like all of her Scottish tour dates in recent years – a sell-out. Performing for the first time at the Barrowlands, Rebecca Lucy Taylor is excited to tick the city’s iconic venue off of her list. “I’ve always wanted to play here!” she confesses joyfully, minutes into her captivating 90-minute set. Her enthusiasm for the performance – and performing in general – shines through in everything she does. 

The latest run of shows is playfully entitled 'I Tour This All the Time' – a reference to her uplifting 2021 banger I Do This All the Time, but perhaps also a wry nod to the singer’s increasing visibility in recent years. Since the release of her Mercury-nominated second album Prioritise Pleasure nearly 18 months ago, Taylor has become a familiar face on British television, showing up in places such as Taskmaster, House of Games and more than a few times on Later... with Jools Holland. Her warmth and wit equip her well for light entertainment, but the stage is where she truly belongs. 

The show begins at full tilt, like someone kicked open the door to a party that was already well underway. Spotlit atop of a small staircase, Self Esteem looks every inch the modern pop star. Her indie past is a distant memory now. Opening with Prioritise Pleasure, there seems to be a promise in the lyrics of that first song: we’re going to have fun tonight. And the audience is happy to oblige.

Laughing and beaming with pride throughout the show, Taylor’s stage presence is natural and magnetic. Her voice, too, has never sounded better. New material goes down like old favourites with the crowd. Mother – a Madonna-inflected house track – is an instant classic, a thrilling window into the maximalist power-pop that awaits. 

You get a sense that the scale of Self Esteem's ambitions is still not fully realised; the show’s readiness for larger stages and bigger rooms is clear to see. Amazingly, the only real prop is a small staircase but inventive lighting, choreography and costume changes combine to create something visually unforgettable.

With 'I Tour This All the Time' Self Esteem has created something which is more than the sum of its parts, perfectly bringing to life the world that her music inhabits. It’s a place where dark nights of the soul exists, sure. But they pass, and are best spent in dark rooms, dancing.