Prom King (album)

Ryan DeRobertis previously created music as Saint Pepsi, but as he gained popularity, the name created legal trouble with PepsiCo.[1][2][3] DeRobertis adopted the pseudonym Skylar Spence, after two characters from the 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You.[4][2][5] As well, "Skylar Spence" is the title of a track from his 2013 Saint Pepsi album Hit Vibes.[2][5]

Prom King was mostly recorded in DeRobertis' house, other than his vocals, which he recorded in his friend Alex's room.[6] DeRobertis stated, "I would stress not to have a recording budget because I wanted to produce the whole thing [...] the way I’ve produced music for the past seven years".[6] DeRobertis is the "prom king" in the album's title, because he had almost become a homecoming king in high school.[6]

DeRobertis chose to sign to Carpark Records because they offered him creative freedom to sing.[4] He released the single "Fiona Coyne" on August 12, 2014.[7] He released a further three singles preceding the album: "Can't You See" on June 16, 2015;[8] "Affairs" on July 27, 2015;[9] and "I Can't Be Your Superman" on September 2, 2015.[10] A remix of "Can't You See" by Ryan Hemsworth was released on August 26, 2015,[11] and music videos were later released for all of the singles.[12][13] DeRobertis went on tour in support of the album.[4] The album was physically released on vinyl and CD, including a limited edition deluxe vinyl.[14]

In contrast to DeRobertis' previous Saint Pepsi work, which had vaporwave and heavily-sampled elements, Prom King is a pop album in which DeRobertis' sings instead of only sampling vocals.[15][17] As well, DeRobertis uses real instruments in a way that imitates sampling.[18] DeRobertis stated, "with Prom King, I wanted to move away from [working from existing music]. 95 percent of the instrumentals were recorded by me".[17]

Prom King is a pop[18][19] and dance[15][16][19] album, which takes inspiration from dance-pop,[20] synth-pop,[18] nu-disco,[15] disco,[20] and new wave.[18] "Can’t You See" has elements of disco,[19] dance, and funk,[3] and its lyrics are written as told to DeRobertis' mirror reflection.[15] According to Stereogum, the track is about "how narcissism can serve as a defense mechanism for anxiety".[8] “I Can’t Be Your Superman” is a disco-funk song about victimization.[10][21] The instrumental "Ridiculous!" was described by Stereogum as a "crush-pop banger".[18][21] "Fall Harder" takes inspiration from sophisti-pop and dance club.[18] The instrumental "Bounce Is Back" uses new wave-like synths, strings and sampled vocals.[18][15] "Affairs" is a breakup song which takes inspiration from chillwave,[9] synth-pop,[9] sophisti-pop[18] and dance club.[18] "Cash Wednesday" uses new wave-like synths and sampled vocals.[15] The closer "Fiona Coyne" is a sophisti-pop,[18] bubblegum pop,[21] and disco[18][16] song whose title references Degrassi.[15]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	.[18]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[15]
No Ripcord	6/10[20]
The Skinny	[22]

Prom King has received generally positive reviews from music critics. All four scoring critics rated the album between 6/10 (or 3 stars) and 8/10 (or 4 stars). PopMatters placed the album 30th on their list of "The 80 Best Albums of 2015".[19]

AllMusic and Vulture described the album as "effervescent",[18][17] while No Ripcord described it as having a "youthful exuberance and bouncy sheen".[20] Stereogum wrote, the album "feels like the best and brightest golden moments of summer".[8] Similarly, No Ripcord described it as a "consistently fun summer album".[20] According to Spectrum Culture, the album is "simply fun" and "some of the most engaging and unabashedly joyous dance music made in a long time".[16]

Critics have commented on how the album uses nostalgia. According to Pitchfork, the album succeeds despite its "distanced, conceptual take on pop nostalgia".[15] The Skinny wrote that the album uses nostalgia well, for example in "Can't You See", which "capitalise[s] upon nostalgia without losing any wit".[22] According to Vulture, DeRobertis’s boyish voice adds to the nostalgia, giving the album "an endearing 'let’s make out under the bleachers during the homecoming game' quality".[17] In contrast, No Ripcord, wrote that the album over-indulges in its nostalgia, and critiqued his boyish voice and the "attention-grabbing title".[20] Spectrum Culture likened the album's nostalgia to how Daft Punk used disco in their 2013 album Random Access Memories.[16]

As Prom King has both pop and sampled instrumental tracks, critics have discussed the album's cohesiveness. AllMusic described the pop songs as inconsistent, which sound like "remixes of other people".[18] According to Pitchfork, the choice to not only feature pop songs makes the album more distinct, but sometimes over-indulgent.[15] No Ripcord described the instrumental tracks as the album's weaker half due to them being dated and unmemorable.[20] Spectrum Culture praised the album for being cohesive despite its genre variations, writing that the instrumental tracks "fit seamlessly into the album".[16]

1. "Intro" — 2:10
2. "Can't You See" — 4:06
3. "Prom King" — 4:14
4. "I Can't Be Your Superman" — 4:20
5. "Ridiculous" — 3:34
6. "Fall Harder" — 4:45
7. "Bounce Is Back" — 3:30
8. "Affairs" — 4:21
9. "All I Want" — 3:00
10. "Cash Wednesday" — 2:30
11. "Fiona Coyne" — 4:09

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[23]

• Ryan DeRobertis — music, vocals, and production
• Alexander Almgren — mixing and vocal engineering
• Rob Carmichael (of Seen Studios) — graphic design

• Prom King by Skylar Spence on Bandcamp