Night Time, My Time, by Sky Ferreira

While I was doing a rankdown of underrated songs, Spotify played another song by this artist in addition to the one that was on the rankdown and I figured it would be worthwhile to review the only studio album from an artist who seems to be well-beloved by those who know about her but largely unfamiliar to most audiences. This artist is what could be termed a cult artist, who has never achieved mass appeal but has a massive amount of popularity with those who are fond of her as an artist. I have long been puzzled by this disconnect personally, as her name comes up often as someone who deserves more popularity than she has.

This album begins with Boys, a song about someone who gives the narrator faith in boys again after a period of disillusionment. This is followed by It Ain’t Your Right, which looks at the negotiation between people who want to be with each other but not to consider themselves obligated to the other. 24 Hours has a driving beat and reflects on the relentless passing of time and her devotion to a partner. Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay) has another driving beat and deals with the failures of reciprocity in communication, and has an ominous feeling about it. I Blame Myself is a chilling song about the parasocial nature of fame and abuse and its repercussions to the present day that is definitely relatable in an unpleasant way. Omanko is an urgent song that seems to reflect an obsession with Japanese culture. You’re Not The One, the most popular song from this album, is gorgeous and a somewhat unexpected ode about someone not being the one. Heavy Metal Heart reflects on the way that love helps one’s hearts, with another driving beat. Kristine reflects on the unmourned fate of tormented young millionaires. I Will revels in the singer’s unpredictability. Love In Stereo reflects on the singer’s love for someone who just wants to be a friend. Night Time, My Time has an ominous feeling to it, almost like a soundtrack song about a vampire.

It is admittedly hard to reconcile the critical favor of this album with its popular obscurity. As a listener with little prior familiarity to the album, this album strikes me as a 4/5 or a 4.5/5 album, with the production generally solid and the album generally good and occasionally superb, as in the standout tracks like Boys, 24 Hours, I Blame Myself, and You’re Not The One. What a critic hears as a middle finger to a corrupt music industry seems to alienate the people who bring an album to the masses–those famously corrupt record labels and radio stations and the like. This is an album that you will likely appreciate if you see Sky as singing what you feel concerning the frustrations of life and love and the worthless coin of the attention economy. If you think she is singing to you, you will probably feel less fond of it.