Rating: NNN
Former Michael Jackson confidante and teeny popper Sky Ferreira first showed star potential in 2010 with the slick synth-pop single One before seemingly succumbing to major-label meddling a year later with the wannabe hockey anthem Obsession.
Despite her Lolita image and modelesque looks, the 20-year-old has always seemed too grungy to pull off the bad-girl pop star archetype. Fortunately, her Ghost EP suggests a much broader range of intriguing possibilities – big shiny pop included – for her dusky voice.
Boasting production and songwriting from Cass McCombs, Jon Brion, Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Ariel Rechtshaid (Usher’s Climax), Greg Kurstin (Kelly Clarkson) and Bloodshy & Avant (Britney Spears), this ballad-heavy, five-track EP makes the most of the melancholy and icy stillness in Ferreira’s voice. It’s wildly diverse, but there’s a lightness and unobtrusiveness to each song that mirrors her airy delivery while hinting at even more untapped potential.
Top track: Everything Is Embarrassing
