Self Esteem has praised the influence of mainstream pop music, singling out the work of Little Mix in particular.

The musician, aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor, was the star of this week’s Big Read. Speaking to NME, she discussed the freedom she’s found exploring pop aesthetics.

“If you listen to a Little Mix song, they’re fucking wild production wise,” she said. “They take risks on production that you would never hear a guitar band do – and that’s more punk to me than a punk band sounding like every other punk band.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Taylor discussed her time in the indie band Slow Club, and her difficulties with the scene surrounding them.

“The amount of songs I had that couldn’t go through the Slow Club lens – that then had to just disappear – was quite debilitating artistically,” she said.

“Everything about that world was like, ‘Ooh – we just happen to be playing our songs quietly, don’t look at me, don’t make any sort of spectacle out of me; I’m just sort of accidentally talented. That’s something I never enjoyed about it. I want to put on a show – I want it to be too much!”

Earlier this week, meanwhile, Self Esteem released new single called ‘How Can I Help You’, along with an accompanying self-directed video.

Taken from her upcoming second album, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, ‘How Can I Help You’ hears Self Esteem take aim at the misogynistic standards and objectification that women are subjected to.