Empress Of - “Standard” (Official Video)

Empress Of’s elliptical, fractured pop opus Me is our Album Of The Week, and today Lorely Rodriguez has capitalized on the momentum from her record release by sharing another new video for “Standard.” It opens “I’ve been living below the standard / With a hunger that feeds the fire,” and for anyone who lives in a roach-infested Brooklyn apartment — as Rodriguez might since she lives in Brooklyn — the line immediately hits right where it hurts. That’s the kind of jittery, restless jab that makes her songwriting fascinating, and a deft companion to the dark, shuddering pop she creates. The video, which was directed by Zaiba Jabbar and Rodriguez herself, is a jumble of wrestling bodies and upside down perspectives.