Me (Empress Of album)

Me
Studio album by Empress Of
Released	September 11, 2015
Genre	Dream pop indietronica trip hop electropop
Label	Terrible, XL
Producer	Lorely Rodriguez
Empress Of chronology
Systems (2013) Me (2015)
Singles from Me
"Water Water" Released: April 14, 2015 "Kitty Kat" Released: July 20, 2015 "How Do You Do It[1]" Released: September 2, 2015 "Standard" Released: September 3, 2015

Me is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Empress Of, released on September 11, 2015 by XL Recordings and Terrible Records.^[2] The first single, "Water Water", was released April 14, 2015.^[3] The second single, "Kitty Kat", was released July 20, 2015 along with the album's announcement.^[4]

Background and development

Upon adopting the stage name Empress Of in 2012, Lorely Rodriguez began uploading her first recordings onto YouTube: a collection of minute-long snippets designated with a specific color. These demos, dubbed Colorminutes, were produced day-to-day as an exercise for Rodriguez to hone her technical proficiency and creative discipline.^[5] A few became the basis for her first release "Champagne", which garnered the attention of Terrible Records, through which she released her first EP Systems in April 2013 and later signed a joint deal with XL Recordings for her debut studio album.^[6][5]

Rodriguez found herself with writer's block after initial recording sessions for Me, which took place in a Williamsburg studio: "Living in New York as an artist is a hard thing to do. Everyone’s hustling, everyone’s got this really tense energy because it’s so hard to live here and make it here and pursue your dreams as an artist if you’re not super privileged. But, I was writing a bunch of shitty demos, and I didn’t want to tour that for two years, because, you know, you make a record and you tour it forever."^[7][5] Rodriguez contacted a friend over her predicament and desire to leave the city, to which he offered up his parents' empty vacation house in Mexico.^[8] Rodriguez left for the writing retreat in December 2013, leaving behind four jobs as a nanny and music teacher, to the secluded village of Valle de Bravo on Lake Avándaro.^[8][5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(82/100)[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Pitchfork Media	(8.2/10)[11]
New York Times	(favorable)[12]
MusicOMH	[13]
Robert Christgau	[14]
The Guardian	[15]

Online magazine Pitchfork Media reviewed the album positively, awarding it Best New Music.^[11]

Year-end lists

Publication	Accolade	Rank
Pitchfork	The 50 Best Albums of 2015	37[16]
Noisey	The 50 Best Albums of 2015	29[17]
Pretty Much Amazing	The 50 Best Albums of 2015	20[18]
Under the Radar	Top 100 Albums of 2015	74[19]
The Line Best of Fit	The 50 Best Albums of 2015	N/A[20]
Pigeons & Planes	Best Albums of 2015	22[21]
The 405	The 30 Best Albums of 2015	22[22]
Gorilla vs. Bear	Albums of 2015	30[23]
Time Out New York	The 25 Best Albums of 2015	7[24]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Everything Is You"	3:46
2.	"Water Water"	3:41
3.	"Standard"	3:39
4.	"How Do You Do It"	3:43
5.	"To Get By"	2:57
6.	"Kitty Kat"	2:25
7.	"Need Myself"	4:00
8.	"Make Up"	3:40
9.	"Threat"	3:27
10.	"Icon"	3:34

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[25]	5
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[26]	9

References

1. "Empress Of debuts 'How Do You Do It' video". DIY.
2. "Empress Of Announces Debut Album Me, Shares New Song "Kitty Kat"". Pitchfork.
3. "Empress Of debuts new song "Water Water"". terriblerecords.com.
4. Liz Raiss. "Empress Of's "Kitty Kat" Is A Synth-Pop Thunderstorm About Cat-Calling". The FADER.
5. Moreland, Quinn. "The Making Of Me". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
6. "Empress Of - Champagne". Dazed Digital. Dazed. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
7. Martin, Paley (14 September 2015). "Empress Of Talks Writing Debut Album 'Me' While Isolated in Mexico & Reconnecting With Herself". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
8. Bird, Cameron (21 October 2015). "The Royal Me". California Sunday Magazine. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
9. "Me". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
10. Simpson, Paul. "Me Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
11. Berman, Stuart. "Empress of: Me". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
12. Pareles, Jon (10 September 2015). "Review: 'Me,' by Empress Of, Has Cool Assurance and Jumpy Lines". New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
13. Monk, Christopher (5 December 2015). "Empress Of – Me Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
14. Christgau, Robert (2 September 2016). "It's Britney, Bitch: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
15. Hutchinson, Kate (17 September 2015). "Empress Of: Me review – cool, quirky future-pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
16. "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
17. "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 3, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
18. "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pretty Much Amazing. December 18, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
19. "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2015". Under the Radar. December 16, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
20. "The Fifty Best Albums of 2015". The Line Best of Fit. December 10, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
21. "Best Albums of 2015". Pigeons & Planes. December 23, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
22. "The 30 Best Albums of 2015". The 405. December 7, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
23. "Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2015". Gorilla vs. Bear. December 1, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
24. "The 25 Best Albums of 2015". Time Out New York. December 10, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
25. "Empress Of – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Empress Of. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
26. "Empress Of – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Empress Of. Retrieved September 24, 2015.