(Photo courtesy of: Pitchfork) “Sky Ferreiera’s ‘Night Time, My Time’ is celebrating its tenth anniversary.”
Jonathan Hatem
Connector Staff
“Night Time, My Time” by Sky Ferreira is 10 years old as of Oct. 29 this year. While the energetic electronic pop record was well received, it’s still her only full-length album release. This isn’t from a lack of want from her fans.
One only needs to listen to “Boys”, the opening track on the 2013 album, to understand why. She exudes coolness. Guitar and electronic production brings energy to a track that begins with her speaking. Her singing opens with the iconic line, “Boys, there a dime a dozen. Boys, they ain’t doing nothing for me any longer.”
The energy continues on in “Ain’t Your Right”. Driving percussion and guitars push the song forward while her voice weaves above and below the production.
Drums, bells and a dreamy synth slow the record down on “24 Hours”, giving the listener a moment to breathe.
The first three songs create the night that Sky Ferreira calls hers. There’s plenty on her mind, but she is in the mood to dance and let it all go, if only for a moment.
“Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)” makes this feeling even more apparent. Her voice during the verses is intentionally fuzzy, if only to make clearer the revelations in the chorus, “If I was okay, nobody asked me.” As she raises her voice, the listener must wonder if she is yelling out of anger or sadness.
Just as her emotion rises, it settles into the dreamy “I Blame Myself”. The percussion is lighter, but the lyrics are not. “How could you know what it feels like to fight the hounds of hell? You think you know me so well…I just want you to realize I blame, I blame myself.” After sharing parts of herself with someone, she blames herself for opening up to a person lacking respect for her. She knows them now and regrets who she shared herself with.
Ferreira follows this with the heaviest guitars on the record on “Omanko”. The repetitive lyrics add to the heaviness of the track, implying she is either stuck in a thought-loop or repeating some action.
“You’re Not The One” returns the album to a more ethereal place. There was a moment of darkness between her dancing, but she is back to parading around her room while thinking, “I’m still thinking about how much I need you, but you really want somebody else. You’re not the one. Guess you’re not the one.” She feels conflicted, but she is becoming free from her desire for a person.
“Heavy Metal Heart” lacks the trappings of the metal genre, but the reason for this is revealed in the chorus, “You make my heavy metal heart beat.” Someone has softened her.
Fast-paced and muddled guitar leads off “Kristine”. Drums match the rapid pace. She rises above the instruments with certainty. The lyrics describe an affluent group of “young millionaires” Ferreira has apparently escaped from, and she wants to make sure they know how she feels. The satirical tone she takes falls away with the last line.
Her revenge continues on “I Will”. The verse contains cutting lines which flow into a cathartic chorus. Fully in control, she raises her voice to tell the person on the wrong side of this song that she has always been in control of the situation between them.
As the song fades out, what appears to be a traditional love song replaces it in “Love In Stereo”. She begins feeling hope that there is mutual interest with someone. Listeners feel the hope she felt, but it is instantly crushed with the next line, “But he just wants to be my friend.” The short chorus has only two lines, “We fell in love in stereo. Then he broke my heart in stereo.”
The album closes on the titular track “Night Time, My Time”. The song drags compared to the rest of the album and she explains why when she says, “So, will I slow down? Or go faster and faster?” All that she is carrying has begun to weigh her down. This doesn’t discredit all the energy and euphoria on the rest of the record, it only shows there is another side to it.
Overall Grade: A
