Empress Of: "I'm trying to feel sexy in this uncertainty"

Following a breakup, Empress Of’s new album sees her living her best life and having a blast.

Words: Abigail Firth. Photos: Kaio Cesar.

To make her fourth album, Empress Of escaped to Miami. After having her heart broken by a director, getting out of Los Angeles – where she's been based for most of her career – was likely necessary. What came out of the endeavour is Empress Of's glossiest, sexiest, campiest album yet.

Titled 'For Your Consideration' after the Oscars campaign her ex was running when they split, it's an unapologetic single girls album, and ironically, her most collaborative.

By contrast, her relationship status has changed again since writing the record, so she isn't bitter about having to promote an album about severe singledom on Valentine's Day when we speak from her hotel room in Shoreditch. A little jet lagged and still coming down from the adrenaline rush of playing her first show back in months in London the night before, Empress Of (Lorely Rodriguez to her mates) is just about awake for our chat.

Rejecting the introspection often explored in her previous albums, 'For Your Consideration' starts quiet and heartbroken, swiftly moving into something more daring. Writing while rebounding and swiping on dating apps for the first time, the album marks a narrative departure from her last full-length, 'I'm Your Empress Of'. That too centred around themes of loneliness and disconnection, but this time, she's revelling in it.