Album Review: Sky Ferreira – “Night Time, My Time”

The name of the Sky Ferreira’s debut album is Night Time, My Time, but it could just as easily have been called Sky Ferreira Rescues Pop Music From Mediocrity.

By now, Sky’s music career comprises five years, two extended plays, one studio album, and zero bona fide radio hits. If you have been following Ferreira’s short but very, very chaotic venture into the world of pop music, you know the 21-year-old has been fighting viciously to find her own voice. With her new album, Sky seems to have found that voice, and it fits her like a glove. She has put together one of the most ambitious and interesting albums that pop music has seen in recent years. It’s an album that supplies more authentic art and less compromise.

Pop music has long had a love affair with radio fluff like the latest albums from Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, but there are those of us who want more. Not that there’s anything wrong with songs that will be forgotten in the very near future, but true music fans are always on the look-out for something that will give them enduring enjoyment over the years. With Night Time, My Time, Sky not only provides this, but she also demonstrates a surpassing ability to connect to the core concepts of pop/rock music.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I was overcome with excitement while listening to a new pop record. In the opener, “Boys”, the full scope of Sky’s artistic vision comes to life, and offers the listener a taste of what is to come. It’s gritty and packed with a raw punch that has been missing from her earlier work. The song gives a glimpse at what a fully-realized creative force Ferreira seems to have become.

The remaining tracks are full of charm and charisma, with the highlights being the edgy ’80s-tinged masterpiece “24 Hours” and the downright infectious “I Blame Myself,” as in “I blame, I blame, blame myself for my reputation.” The song seems to find Sky taking a long, hard look at her own celebrity image and the role she may have played in crafting it. Self-examination never sounded so good; the image presented in this song is battered and bruised, and the listener is better for knowing it.

I must admit that I was a massive fan of Sky’s earlier ventures, and couldn’t imagine myself enjoying her new album, but she has turned me into a believer on the aptly titled Night Time, My Time. Sassy, seductive and high on the intoxicating thrills of youth, Night Time, My Time, out now on iTunes, is all you could want in a record. With hard-earned wisdom on her side, it’s easy to imagine that Sky will continue to produce the best music of her career. She seems to be in stronger control of her destiny. Isn’t that what we all want, anyway?

★★★★★