Review by: Anna Julia Chafer
Technical Details:
Year: 2012
Genre: Synthpop
Length: 18:41 minutes
Country: United States
Those who know a bit about Sky Ferreira will probably know that she’s a multifaceted young woman, who has been in contact with music since she was a child. Now, a few years after her bitter musical debut, the EP As If!, she’s working on the last details of the second LP she’ll put out, named Masochism, and this is the perfect occasion to revisit her second EP, the first in which she had the creative freedom she longed for, that freedom she didn’t have in the first record. Ghost is a pretty accurate showcasing of Ferreira’s style and signature sound, in a perfect dose to please her die-hard fans as well as the newcomers who want to taste a bit of her music, a mix of dance, electronic, pop and even acoustic sounds.
The structure of the album is a simple one, but an effective one; two soft, slightly acoustic and new age-infused songs, interspersed with the brisker songs and topped with its pertinent cherry, the highly acclaimed Everything Is Embarrassing, which captures the essence of the four previous songs and unites it in a fine and well-done single.
Sad Dream, the first song, makes the listener think who’s listening to is, surely, another one of those acoustic-based artists, but with a personal touch of electronic add-ons, and an impressive, really impressive, voice. This one is probably the track in which Ferreira’s voice stands out more, and it’s also the one that most people will like, as it has a bit of everything: pop, acoustic, electronic, even a bit of dance and new age.
But then Lost In My Bedroom comes in, and whatever thoughts we had had about her (except maybe the one about her voice: Ferreira’s for sure an amazing singer) are completely erased. We quickly discover the multiplicity present is most of her works, both in the music as in the lyrics. And, even though the following songs are similar to the two we can hear first, none of them gives us a “dejà-vu” feeling when we listen to them.
The issues with which deals the artist in the songs are, mostly, teenage feelings that range from the angst against the world to the classic heartbreak lyrics; basically, lots of sensations and emotions every one of us has felt in some point of our lives. But the great thing about Sky Ferreira’s lyric is that she writes them in a poetical way, which I like and I think is really interesting because, for me, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one, when things are written as poetry, it’s easier to talk about them. One of the reasons is because it’s easier to express yourself if you use metaphors, so you don’t feel as exposed as you would if you presented things as they are. Also, poetic texts have more dimension than only the fact that they are saying something; they involve an aesthetical part that I really like to notice and appreciate. So well, after writing my personal ode to poetry, for which I’m really sorry if I bothered you, I can move on to what I was trying to say: Sky Ferreira is a brilliant poetess. And the fact that she sings her poems may even enhance it.
About the music in itself, it’s pretty obvious that she has a special dimension and depth to most of her music, which she achieves by using and introducing different electronic sounds, basing mostly on synthesizers. Her sound and style, specifically in this EP, changes depending on the song, but she has brought off a special mix of the best Marina and the Diamonds with the sweetest indie-pop of Belle & Sebastian, all without forgetting that unique touch of hers. All this has contributed to her being known as one of the most interesting and creative artists of the last years.
Sky Ferreira truly did set up a stunning record with Ghost, a record that let her start her own career as a musician, and anticipated what was to come with the first LP, “Night Time, My Time”. A one-of-a-kind artist, we’re eager to see what she has to offer and create, because we all know it’ll be, at least, intriguing and fascinating.
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