SKY: Sky Ferreira’s most recent LP deserves the hype.
By Stephen Park, Staff Writer
Even if you’ve never fully listened to one of her songs, you have probably heard of Sky Ferreira. She was stapled on every billboard and featured on every YouTube video last month. Beyond that, everything about Night Time, My Time is entrancing. Not only is it one of the best pop-rock albums released this year, it feels like the first release in which Ferreira is fully aware and engaged with the music she creates. Her debut full-length album was well worth the wait and is sure to increase Ferreira’s ever-growing fame.
The album is truthful, unafraid and bold, and highlights Ferreira’s complexity as an artist. Unlike her last release, Ghost, every song is a hit; it’s almost impossible not to listen to this LP over and over. Her songs seem to drift between explosive new age electronic beats to the melancholy calm noises of a dark lullaby, then back into stadium-shocking dynamic noise.
Before this LP, Ferreira produced a lot of one-dimensional music. It was very simple, melodic and eerie. Yet while Ferreira appeared unmistakably talented, her music always seemed to lack something. On Night Time, My Time, she fills that void. Her vocals are amazing and packed with emotions. I can best explain the sensation her music induces by comparing her vocals to those of King Krule; it’s easy to appreciate the emotional effort that was put into this release. Ferreira’s raw passion is most apparent in songs like the heartbreaking ballad, “You’re Not the One.”
What sticks out most about this album is Ferreira’s fearless portrayal of vulnerability. It begins with the album cover, where she poses nude—not in an erotic sense, but rather as if caught in a moment of vulnerability, a sort of innocence lost. The best portrayal of vulnerability, however, is in one of her most powerful songs, “I Blame Myself,” where she acknowledges her notoriety and her struggle of self-discovery. She shifts the blame for her bad reputation onto herself, stating, “I blame myself for my reputation.”
It’s difficult to pinpoint who the blame shifts from. Maybe she blames her parents for not raising her and leaving her upbringing to her grandmother. Perhaps she addresses Capitol Records, who signed her at the age of fifteen and transformed her into another dull, Miley sex icon. Or it could be the fashion industry, which made her appearance better known than her ability as an artist. Regardless of the ambiguity, she now pushes that responsibility inward. It’s not just in this song either, as a lot of Ferreira’s songs dive deep into some of her innermost thoughts. Like the track “Boys,” where you feel her struggle to overcome the difficulties in dating another famous musician, the grief that comes with groupies and the insecurity of rocky relationships.
Ferreira’s album is a must-buy for this year and was ranked 21 on Rolling Stones 50 Best Albums of 2013.
Photo courtesy of www.wolfpackradio.org