Empress Of, real name Lorely Rodríguez, has toured extensively this past year riding high on the wave of the good PR she’s received from U.S. blogs. I liked her Spanish language track “Tristeza,” but I didn’t love “Tristeza.” It felt too flat, too devoid of a point of view. But I knew that the woman behind THIS Web site had to be capable of interesting music. And so now we have that.
“Realize You” is Empress Of’s best track yet, playing off dance elements and Rodríguez’s thin voice. It’s a fleshy track, one that reveals new traits with each new listen. The lyrics are also very sing-along worthy.