Night Time, My Time (album)

Night Time, My Time is Sky Ferreira's debut album that was released on October 29, 2013 through digital outlets. The album was preceded by two extended plays, As If! (2011) and Ghost (2012).

Background and development
In October 2011, Ferreira announced in a magazine that she was still currently working on her debut album, but is changing her musical direction to a more Blondie-inspired sound, stepping away from electropop. A month later, Ferreira announced on her official Facebook page that the new album is expected to be released during the summer of 2012 and the first single in February 2012. In December 2011, Ferreira announced that she was working with Jon Brion, Shirley Manson, and Greg Kurstin for her debut album. On January 23, 2012, Ferreira revealed the title of her debut album, Wild at Heart. On February 7, 2012, Ferreira confirmed "Swamp Girl" and "24 Hours" as the titles of two tracks from the album. "Lost in My Bedroom", which according to Ferreira is "the most 'electro pop' on the record", surfaced online on March 2, 2012 in its demo form. Ferreira stated that she will release two music videos for her first new single "Red Lips" on June 12, 2012. As of June 2012, one video for "Red Lips" has been released, and the title of the debut album has been changed from Wild at Heart to I'm Not Alright. The title was once again revised in mid-2013 to I Will. Upon news of a further postponement, Ferreira changed the name of the album again to Night Time, My Time. On August 8, 2012, Ferreira posted an outtake photo of her then-upcoming EP on her official Tumblr page, adding that the EP would be released in early September and is produced by Brion. On August 30, it was announced that the EP is titled Ghost, along with the premiere of the track "Everything Is Embarrassing", co-produced by Dev Hynes and Ariel Rechtshaid. Released on October 16, 2012, the EP features five songs, including "Red Lips" and "Everything Is Embarrassing", along with three new songs, "Lost in My Bedroom" (which was used in the December 13, 2012 episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy), "Ghost", and "Sad Dream". In her debut television performance, she sang "Everything Is Embarrassing" on the Monday, January 7, 2013 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On October 11, 2012 a trailer for a film titled, IRL, was released featuring Ferreira.

The cover was shot by filmmaker Gaspar Noé. On April 22, 2013, Ferreira tweeted the following message confirming that the album was complete.
 * "It's finished @arielrechtshaid @jonbrion @breakmirrors instagram.com/p/Ya922InDIx/"

Ferreira's debut album was expected to be released late summer 2013. However, it was later reported in an interview with GQ that the album had been delayed until 2014 but an EP with the same name (at that time, I Will) was announced to be release in September 2013. Sky explained via Twitter,
 * "My LP got pushed back for a few reasons. 1.Huge opportunity to make something better 2.I'll now be able to release it worldwide".

The EP title was later changed to the name of the lead single, "You're Not the One", but never materialized due to the album release date being moved up to October 29, 2013. The title of the album was once again changed, this time to Ny Time, My Time, which is in reference to the 1992 American psychological horror film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me , directed by David Lynch. The title comes from the quote "Nighttime is my time," delivered by Laura Palmer, portrayed by Sheryl Lee. On August 29, 2013, Ferreira posted a picture on Facebook with the caption "done". On September 4, 2013, Ferreira posted on Facebook, saying she had a confirmed album release date in 2013. Ferreira uploaded short preview videos for "I Blame Myself", "Night Time, My Time", "Heavy Metal Heart", and "Omanko" to her Instagram account on October 8, 2013. On October 10, 2013, she shared the censored version of the album art, which was shot by filmmaker, Gaspar Noé, who has directed such films as Enter the Void and Irréversible and music videos like "Animal Collective" and "Nick Cave". The uncensored version was published shortly after by Pitchfork Media.

Ferreira is scheduled to perform at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris on November 2, 2013 in promotion for the album.

Composition
Ferreira talked about the EP saying:
 * “It’s pretty much done at this point. Some of the songs are a bit more aggressive but there’s a guitar, electronic [vibe]."

The track, "You're Not the One" is written by Ferreira, Justin Raisen, Daniel Nigro and Ariel Rechtshaid, the latter also having produced the song. Ferreira described the song background and meaning.
 * “The production is super-inspired by "Low" by David Bowie. I wanted to make a super-poppy version. Like not when you’re rolling up your car windows because you don’t want anyone to know you’re listening to it. Like trying to hide it in your iTunes. Ariel had the idea. People say it sounds like Siouxsie Sioux. I guess the song was originally about a relationship when you’re not chasing after them. You know they’re kind of fucked up. It’s like a game of cat and mouse. They’re interested but not interested enough and it’s not fair. That’s basically what it should be called, ‘It’s Not Fair.’”

Release

 * -|Pre-order/1st release=


 * -|2nd release=


 * -|3rd release=


 * -|4th release=


 * -|5th release=


 * -|Urban Outfitters=

Reception
Night Time, My Time received mostly positive reviews from critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 79, based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Out of a 5 star rating, ABC rated the album a 4.5, AllMusic gave the album a 4, Consequence of Sound and Slant Magazine both rated the album 3.5 and Rolling Stone gave it a 2.5. Out of a 10 star rating, Pitchfork Media rated the album an 8.1, CMJ gave an 8, and Spin gave it a 7. The New York Times and Stereogum deemed the album "favorable" and The A.V. Club gave the album a B+.

Accolades
Several media publications recognized Night Time, My Time as one of the best albums of 2013. The staff from Idolator listed the record as their favorite record of the year, writing that the project "is not only a defining (long awaited) first statement, but a defying, perfectly imperfect middle finger in the air." It was additionally placed as the second best album by Dazed and Fact,  and the sixth best record by The New York Times and Stereogum. The staff from Popjustice ranked Night Time, My Time as the ninth best album of 2013, simply commenting that "she did it." Pitchfork Media described the project as "blown-speaker, smeared-lipstick pop—would-be radio hits with that last topcoat of paint left incomplete", and acknowledged it as the 15th best record. Rolling Stone, Complex, and The Guardian respectively placed the album as the 21st, 25th, and 27th best record of 2013. Consequence of Sound listed Night Time, My Time as the forty-ninth best album of the year, adding that "if teens are digging Night Time, My Time, they’re only a few steps removed from Suicide, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Blondie." Although its rank was not specified, NPR and The New Yorker recognized the record as among the best of the year.

In 2014, Pitchfork Media and Fact both named the album among the 100 best of the decade up to that point.

Promotion
"You're Not the One" was serviced as Night Time, My Time's lead single on September 24, 2013. Its music video, paying visual homage to 1983 film The Hungerand set in a high-fashion nightclub, was released on the same day. On November 25, 2013, Ferreira appeared on the program Late Show with David Letterman, where she performed the single. "24 Hours" was released as a free promotional single on the same day of the album's release. A music video for the album's title track, directed by Grant Singer and released on November 27, 2013, sees Ferreira wearing a variety of wigs and lingerie. Natasha Stagg of Vwrote that, in the video, Ferreira "embraces the title she's been deemed by dressing in provocatively infantile accessories" and "cleverly [delivers] the junkie role back in her detractors' faces." Consequence of Sound named the video among the best of 2013.

Prior to the album release, US tour dates featuring Ferreira alongside Vampire Weekend and Smith Westerns were revealed. Due to a vocal injury, Ferreira canceled the tour with three shows remaining. On November 25, 2013, a live concert with Ferreira was held at Rough Trade New York, followed by a signing session. The attendance could purchase the original LP along with its Night Time, My Time: B-sides Part I EP. In addition to serving as an opening act for several dates of Miley Cyrus's worldwide Bangerz Tour, Ferreira also promoted the record at one-off headlining shows and festival appearances throughout 2014, punctuated by a five-date run of West Coast shows in November.

Commercial performance
Night Time, My Time debuted at number 45 on the US Billboard 200,  on the strength of digital downloads from its exclusive first-week release through the iTunes Store. In doing so, it became her highest-charting record in the country; by comparison, her second extended play Ghost (2012) reached number eight on theBillboard Heatseekers Albums chart. As of November 2014, the album had sold 39,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In Australia, Night Time, My Time peaked at number 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album debuted at number 73 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 1,337 copies in its first week.