Album Review: Sky Ferreira - Night Time, My Time

Album review: Sky Ferreira: Night Time, My Time

8/10

Five years since Sky Ferreira was first signed to a record label, the 21-year-old finally releases her debut - a record that is certainly worth the wait.

Initially, ‘Night Time, My Time’ is a collection of synth-pop songs. First single from the album ‘You’re Not The One’ is infectious and dance-like behind its lyrics tinged with revenge and shadows. Similarly, ‘24 Hours’ sounds like it has emerged from the credit sequence of an 80s teen movie, with its catchy melody and ballad-like vocals.

However, there is a vulnerability undeniably intertwined with the record, perhaps first depicted on the album sleeve shot by Gaspar Noé. The most intriguing yet conceivably poignant song of the album, ‘I Blame Myself’, frequents a lyric about Ferreira blaming herself for her reputation. Following her recent arrest for drug possession with boyfriend Zachary Cole Smith (of DIIV), the singer posted the lyrics to her tumblr account, leading to parallels being drawn between the incident and the song’s lyrics. Ferreira sings “how could you know what it feels like to fight the hounds of hell? You think you know me so well”, creating the idea of a misconstrued and misunderstood public image as she contrasts one of the album’s simpler melodies with an intricate set of lyrics.

Another element to the album is the presence of grungy guitars and heavy synths. Present on ‘Omanko’ – which is Japanese for vagina - and ‘Kristine’, amongst others, they convey the sonically vampy and defiant components to the record. Ferreira’s powerful and equally beautiful vocals are another contributor to the brilliance of ‘Night Time, My Time’, particularly as a debut. Often, Ferreira’s sound is shrouded of any vulnerability to make way for her empowering, strong sound – I like to think of this as symbolising how she has made the strong decision to command her music career and release a brilliant album, despite previous setbacks.

A debut album’s role is to put out an offering to the wide world; in Sky Ferreira’s instance her offering is both exciting and god-damn catchy. 

Written by Amelia Holloway 

@ameliazsz