Deconstructed R&B rhythms and skittering, minimalist beats, made by a Brooklyn-dwelling singer-producer whose name was inspired by a tarot reading? It would be easy to dismiss Empress Of as hipster detritus, hot on the heels of XL labelmate FKA twigs. But Lorely Rodriguez is making coolly affecting experimental pop that’s all her own. Me is packed with alluring quirks, from the attitudinal squelch of Water Water, a stompy house track set to the sound of someone running through puddles, to the ticking clock that forms the beat for the loneliness-spiked Icon. Other songs lean towards empowerment (Need Myself) and idealistic love (Make Up, which sounds like Lykke Li going for a proper pop banger). But a sense of isolation seeps through, nailing Scandi-pop’s knack for silvery melancholy, as on the cold glockenspiel of album opener Everything Is You. If anything lets Me down, it’s that it’s not as heavy on the hooks as it is the production. But at a time when Carly Rae Jepsen is turning to members of Vampire Weekend for new ideas, Empress Of’s self-produced music feels like a small victory for the future of pop.
