Empress Of returns with a shimmering romancer with the release of her latest single “Kiss Me,” calling upon fellow pop phenom Rina Sawayama to complete the track’s heavenly allure. She will also be joining Sawayama on her current tour, which includes a stop at The Observatory in Santa Ana on October 3rd, as well as a headlining date at the Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles on October 4th. The new song joins recent offerings like “Highway” as the first bits of new music since the release of her Save Me EP last year.
Draped in the song’s crystalline melody and beatific electronica, the two luminously voiced singers raise up an earnest plea for their respective lovers to reveal their feelings. “If this is love, I’ll settle down / Just tell me to,” Empress Of coos translucently as the song opens. Caressed as they are by the glowing twinkle of piano keys, her lyricism is made all the more iridescent by its unguarded intimacy and gleaming sensuality.
If that was all the song had to offer — materializing as this sublime desire to both feel and hear a lover’s words of devotion — it would be another bop in her catalog. But Empress Of made the divine decision to tap Sawayama for the track’s second verse, sending the song to transcendent new heights with the addition of her tenderly ravishing vocals: “And when I breathe / I’m breathing life / Into our wings.”
As if that wasn’t enough “Kiss Me” is also accompanied by a music video directed by India Harris. The film hones in on the song’s celestial radiance — envisioning the duo on a romp through the verdant and elysian countryside of the U.K. where it was shot. Splicing together moments of resplendent passion with ones that feature both Empress Of and Sawayama (wearing giant feathery angel wings no less) as they wander over green fields in search of the bold declarations of love they require.
See Empress Of at The Observatory in Santa Ana on October 3rd and the Masonic Lodge in Los Angeles on October 4th.
Visit Empress Of on their website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Empress Of tour
9/22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ SLC Twilight*
9/26 – Denver, CO @ Filmore Auditorium*
9/28 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount*
9/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield*
10/3 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory*
10/4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge
10/6 – Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary*
10/9 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues*
10/11 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs*
10/12 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec*
* w/ Rina Sawayama
Words: Steven Ward
Watch the music video for “Kiss Me” (feat. Rina Sawayama) the new single from Empress Of below!
