Photos by Ben Sklar
Twenty-year-old Sky Ferreira is one of very few artists to play CMJ after releasing a handful of big-budget, major-label pop singles. CMJ is not so sturdy of a launching pad nowadays, but it might be a comfortable place to get a fresh start, to test the waters of a newfound artistic identity. Sporting a lot of leather and a tangled nest of straw-blonde hair, Ferreira offered a sampler of her latest incarnation, which is a much looser, more natural fit.
Smoke seemed to pour out of her lungs in the shape of lyrics, set to a grungy backdrop with subtle shimmer. After only twenty efficiently huge minutes she was ready to wrap, but cheers of, "More, Sky, more!" kept her on stage. "I've only got one other option," she muttered, pacing and hunching behind her microphone. "Does anyone have a capo? No?" There was certainly no retracing of steps last night, so she launched into another new one, this time "Sad Dream", a slow-burning acoustic number from her Ghost EP. "I hope it's not just a sad dream," she husked. Us too.
Highlight: A huge, swirling pop-rock song that'll appear on her upcoming full-length album (but is not on the new EP).
Boring drunken crowd chatter: "She is HOT."
Crowd chatter at the beginning of "Everything Is Embarrassing": "Oh yeah, I've heard this one before."
Demographic oddity: Lot of salt-and-pepper-haired men in the crowd.
Total time Sky spent with her hair pulled out of her face: Under 30 seconds
Band setup: 2 guitarists and a DJ
Pleasant surprise: The electro-pop shimmer of "Everything Is Embarrasing" and "Lost in My Bedroom" translate well live.
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