Brooklyn's Lorely Rodriguez, who records as Empress Of, is out with her aptly titled debut LP, Me. Eschewing the hazy, experimental feeling of her past short releases, Me opts for a more direct, minimal approach. Rodriguez wrote the songs while living alone in a small Mexican town, and a strong sense of isolation, coupled with a growing need for self-reliance, seeps through Me's synth instrumentation. Though Me may have been born of solitude, Rodriguez knows how to stay connected — or, at least, she knows the best jams that tackle the subject.