Sky Ferreira Releases “Leash,” First New Song in 2 Years

After years of rumors of being censored by her label, fans waiting for new songs and promises of a #FerreiraFall, Sky Ferreira has marked her return with “Leash”—her single for the soundtrack of A24’s upcoming film Babygirl. The track can’t be more appropriate for a comeback single; she is breaking out of her silence over a new-wave haze and ripples of piercing electric guitars. Ferreira is brooding—something that she explored in the mysterious standalone 2022 single “Don’t Forget”—but she sounds confident. Long gone are the teenaged Tumblr blog days of yearning, as Ferreira declares “I’ll run through everything that you are.”

“Leash” still possesses that intoxicating grunge twist that made songs from Sky Ferreira’s 2013 debut album Night Time, My Time, like “24 Hours” and “You’re Not the One,” so intimate and empowering. In a subdued murmur, she proclaims, “I’ll let you wear me like a scarf,” adding to the mystique. Ferreira has had eyes on her—something that’s always made her uneasy—but the mounting pressure created a rich and glittery diamond of a track. She’s taking her power back, and flipping the script to express herself on her own terms, a unfettering feat that’s astonishingly clear on “Leash.” The queen has left “label jail” and her taste of freedom delivered—and now we are equipped for a combination Ferreira and Babygirl Winter.

Read Elise Soutar’s essay on Night Time, My Time here and listen to “Leash” below.