At 21, Ferreira is at a crucial transitory stage not just as an artist but as a human, and Night Time, My Time expresses this through its prevailing subject matter: self-deprecation, frustration with vanity, introspection as an outsider, and getting pissed at those who tell you what to do. In essence, the album deals with straightforward stuff that people typically experience growing up, told unflinchingly by someone who is currently undergoing this lack of stasis at the expense of an audience who, let's face it, aren't actually attached to Sky Ferreira the person, but Sky Ferreira the figure.

While this is driving, easy-to-follow pop music, the way in which Ferreira sings and the tone of most of the songs is more aligned with punk ideologies. With the help of Ariel Rechtshaid who produced material by acts like Vampire Weekend, Haim, and Glasser, overly-overdriven power chords fit with Sky's belting vocals on "Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay)" for a cut that is slick but not cheesy. This is immediately followed by a sparkly, bubblegum hard-hitting jam that features a triumphant chorus which could have been done by Wilson-Phillips if they collectively had a lovechild with Joan Jett. "Heavy Metal Heart" is all ra-ra cheerleader metal stuff that feels like an audition tape for Sleigh Bells, and the final trio of songs illustrate three distinct influences that Sky obviously holds dear. "I Will" is sassy punk pop that challenges us to "try to teach [her] a lesson"; "Love in Stereo" is a pretty love song indebted to 80s glitter pop - blippy arpeggios and all!; and finally, the title track album closer is dark, self-critical, and drags along under the heavy weight of excessively layered vocals and waterlogged drumbeats, kind of like a Cat Power song, but more grimy. And that's where it ends. Almost as if Ferreira is saying she was driven here, this is the end of the road, and now she's getting out of the car to slink into the darkness beyond the reach of the headlights. After all, it's her time.

Recommended Tracks: #5 "I Blame Myself", #7 "You're Not The One", #10 "I Will"

Sigmund Steiger