Sky Ferreira @ The First Unitarian Church.

Text and images by Rick Kauffman.

Sky Ferreira poses nude in the shower on the cover of her new, debut album Night Time, My Time. She looks shy and despondent, gazing into the camera. The juxtaposition between the 21-year-old’s apparently crestfallen demeanor and the obvious unflappability in posing nude on her first Capitol Records release is a mere metaphor for the artist’s musical vision.

Or maybe she’s just trying to be Miley.

With a packed house in the clammy basement of the First Unitarian Church on Friday, she seemed humbled by the showing of teens and ‘tweens who dressed to the hilt in heels and strapless dresses. On her nine-stop tour with the Smith Westerns (she previously toured with Vampire Weekend), there was an odd juxtaposition between the indie rockers from Chicago and the maybe-next-maybe-big-thing from Los Angeles.

Ferreira, who can push the Madonna-era ’80s glam pop to the extreme in her music videos, but also touts a grungier side, came looking extra heroin-chic in her skullcap beanie and men’s plaid shirt. Her fans were better dressed than she was in most cases.

After starting with the track “Boys,” a dirty-synth track, she proceeded to trudge right though the entire album. She capped the set off with her 2012 hit song “Everything is Embarrassing.”

In February, the artist will join Icona Pop in support of her friend Miley Cryus on the Bangerz arena tour, where the views will differ greatly from a church basement.