It’s been nine years—in other words, a lifetime—since Sky Ferreira released her decade-best 2013 debut album, Night Time, My Time, and three years since her last proper solo single, 2019’s “Downhill Lullaby.” But today is a new day, and Ferreira is back with “Don’t Forget,” described in a press release as “a tantalizing glimpse into her forthcoming album Masochism.” The pop singer/songwriter’s long-awaited sophomore album has been one of Paste’s most-anticipated releases more years than not since its title was first revealed back in 2015.
Ferreira co-produced “Don’t Forget” alongside her longtime collaborator Jorge Elbrecht (Ariel Pink), recording at Capitol’s historic Studio B in Hollywood, California. Like “Downhill Lullaby” before it, “Don’t Forget” demonstrates that Ferreira hasn’t lost her flair for dramatic, effortlessly elaborate pop music. But where that 2019 track was dark, dissonant and orchestral, “Don’t Forget” is a stylish and immediate synth-pop jam that masks a vengeful intensity. Horns and huge floor toms set the stage for a syncopated dance beat that Ferreira bobs and weaves around, making a kind of peace with the apocalypse: “Tears of fire in the sky / Makes me feel good to be alive,” she sings, swearing in the choruses, “Oh no, I won’t forget / I don’t forgive.” A cyclone of electronic noise and guitar distortion swirls as Ferreira, larger than life, towers over any misfortune that dares cross her path: “It’s such a raw deal world / I don’t need to deceive you, I am the real bad girl.”
Until today, we had last heard from Ferreira when she signed a deal with publisher Third Side Music in April, giving us hope for a 2022 album release. Prior to that, she collaborated with Charli XCX on “Cross You Out,” which appeared on the latter artist’s 2019 album Charli.
Stay tuned for further updates on Masochism. In the meantime, listen to “Don’t Forget” and revisit “Downhill Lullaby” below.
