“When I break, I fix myself real fast…”
Breaking up sucks.
The multi-talented Empress Of, born Lorely Rodriguez, is intimately familiar with the process of sunsetting a relationship.
Her upcoming self-released 5-track Save Me EP, due out on June 24, was written throughout the last year following the release of her 2020 third studio album, I’m Your Empress Of, and much of it is about a recent breakup – but “without wallowing in heartbreak or regret.”
It’s considered a sonic bridge between her third and fourth album. And, very importantly, it was inspired by artists like “Cocteau Twins, Björk and Robyn,” a statement most pleasing to any pop nerd.
Back in April, she released the compelling lead single and title track “Save Me,” a sensual plea that grows increasingly urgent across a rush of almost primal percussion and tense strings: “I want you to save me / I need a baby, not someone to play me / In the back of the room, I want you to save me,” she lusts. It’s an instant standout of the year.
As of last Wednesday (May 25), she’s back with the second offering from the EP called “Dance For You,” again produced alongside Charli XCX and BANKS longtime collaborator, BJ Burton.
“Forget I used to dance (Forget I used to dance for you) / Forget I used to love (Forget I used to love for you),” she declares on the poetic, dance floor-friendly kiss-off.
“I love the lyrics on this song. I made this in Minneapolis with BJ Burton. It was freezing outside. I was in a cave-like studio in the snow literally dancing as I wrote this. ‘Surrender to me like this’ is a touching lyric for me because I’m not hurt over this person anymore. I’ve come out the other side,” she explains.
And there’s still three more tracks to come, including “Cry for Help,” “Turn the Table,” and “Kept Up,” which is described as an “atmospheric dance anthem.”
Look, I’m not rooting for Empress Of’s future relationships to fail. But when these are the fruits of that emotional labor? To quote the Sugababes 4.0 anthem: thank you for the heartbreak.
