Prom King (album)

Ryan DeRobertis previously created music as Saint Pepsi, but as he gained popularity, the name created legal trouble with PepsiCo.{{Cite web |last=Hudson |first=Alex |title=Saint Pepsi Seemingly Forced to Change His Name Due to Complaint from Pepsi |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/saint_pepsi_seemingly_forced_to_change_his_name_due_to_complaint_from_pepsi |website=Exclaim!}}{{Cite web |date=2015-01-14 |title=Saint Pepsi Changes Name To Skylar Spence |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1729175/saint-pepsi-changes-name-to-skylar-spence/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2015-06-16 |title=Skylar Spence announces 'Prom King' album, shares 'Can't You See' |url=https://diymag.com/news/skylar-spence-announces-prom-king-album-shares-cant-you-see |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=DIY |language=en}} DeRobertis adopted the pseudonym Skylar Spence, after two characters from the 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You.{{Cite web |last=Brodsky |first=Rachel |title=Skylar Spence: Pop Music's Friendliest Prom King |url=https://www.spin.com/2015/09/skylar-spence-prom-king-all-eyes-on-interview/ |website=Spin}}{{Cite web |title=Saint Pepsi will now be known as Skylar Spence for exactly the reason you think |url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/saint-pepsi-will-now-be-known-as-skylar-spence |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=Tiny Mix Tapes |language=en}} As well, "Skylar Spence" is the title of a track from his 2013 Saint Pepsi album Hit Vibes.

Prom King was mostly recorded in DeRobertis' house, other than his vocals, which he recorded in his friend Alex's room.{{Cite web |date=2015-10-02 |title=Vaporwave Ambassador Turned Future Funk Heartthrob Skylar Spence, Page 2 |url=https://www.popmatters.com/skylar-spence-future-funk-interview |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=PopMatters |language=en-US}} 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". DeRobertis is the "prom king" in the album's title, because he had almost become a homecoming king in high school.

DeRobertis chose to sign to Carpark Records because they offered him creative freedom to sing. He released the single "Fiona Coyne" on August 12, 2014.{{Cite web |date=2014-07-08 |title=Saint Pepsi – "Fiona Coyne" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1691205/saint-pepsi-fiona-coyne/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} He released a further three singles preceding the album: "Can't You See" on June 16, 2015; "Affairs" on July 27, 2015; and "I Can't Be Your Superman" on September 2, 2015. A remix of "Can't You See" by Ryan Hemsworth was released on August 26, 2015,{{Cite web |date=2015-08-26 |title=Skylar Spence – "Can't You See (Ryan Hemsworth Remix)" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1826766/skylar-spence-cant-you-see-ryan-hemsworth-remix/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} and music videos were later released for all of the singles.{{Cite web |date=2015-09-23 |title=Skylar Spence – "Affairs" Video |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1832992/skylar-spence-affairs-video/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2016-01-06 |title=Skylar Spence – "I Can't Be Your Superman" Video |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1851671/skylar-spence-i-cant-be-your-superman-video/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} DeRobertis went on tour in support of the album. The album was physically released on vinyl and CD, including a limited edition deluxe vinyl.{{Cite web |title=Prom King – Carpark Records |url=https://www.carparkrecords.com/press/promking/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=www.carparkrecords.com}}

{{Quote box

| quote = "Slowed some music down and called myself an artist"

| author = — DeRobertis references his sample-based work on "Can't You See".

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| width = 400px

}}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.{{Cite web |last=Cills |first=Hazel |date=September 14, 2015 |title=Skylar Spence: Prom King |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20977-prom-king/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Charlton |first=Lauretta |title=Skylar Spence Is Nu-disco Worth Knowing, and His New Video Is a Head-Spinning '80s-Ad Collage |url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/09/skylar-spence-affairs-premiere-interview.html |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Vulture |date=September 23, 2015 |language=en-us}} As well, DeRobertis uses real instruments in a way that imitates sampling.{{cite web |last=Donelson |first=Marcy |title=Skylar Spence - Prom King Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/prom-king-mw0002853591 |access-date=2023-04-02 |publisher=AllMusic |language=en}} DeRobertis stated, "with Prom King, I wanted to move away from [working from existing music]. 95 percent of the instrumentals were recorded by me".

Prom King is a pop{{Cite web |date=2020-08-12 |title=The 80 Best Albums of 2015, PopMatters |url=https://www.popmatters.com/80-best-albums-of-2015-2495463144.html |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=PopMatters |language=en-US}} and dance album, which takes inspiration from dance-pop, synth-pop, nu-disco, disco,{{Cite web |last=Hanford |first=Brad |date=September 28, 2015 |title=Prom King |url=https://www.noripcord.com/reviews/music/skylar-spence/prom-king |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=No Ripcord |language=en}} and new wave. "Can’t You See" has elements of disco, dance, and funk, and its lyrics are written as told to DeRobertis' mirror reflection. According to Stereogum, the track is about "how narcissism can serve as a defense mechanism for anxiety".{{Cite web |date=2015-06-16 |title=Skylar Spence – "Can't You See" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1809154/skylar-spence-cant-you-see/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} “I Can’t Be Your Superman” is a disco-funk song about victimization.{{Cite web |date=2015-09-01 |title=Skylar Spence – "I Can't Be Your Superman" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1828108/skylar-spence-i-cant-be-your-superman/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=White |first=Caitlin |date=2015-09-15 |title=Stream Skylar Spence Prom King |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1830834/stream-skylar-spence-prom-king/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} The instrumental "Ridiculous!" was described by Stereogum as a "crush-pop banger". "Fall Harder" takes inspiration from sophisti-pop and dance club. The instrumental "Bounce Is Back" uses new wave-like synths, strings and sampled vocals. "Affairs" is a breakup song which takes inspiration from chillwave,{{Cite web |date=2015-07-27 |title=Skylar Spence – "Affairs" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1819190/skylar-spence-affairs/news/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} synth-pop, sophisti-pop and dance club. "Cash Wednesday" uses new wave-like synths and sampled vocals. The closer "Fiona Coyne" is a sophisti-pop, bubblegum pop, and disco{{Cite web |last=Korber |first=Kevin |date=2015-10-12 |title=Skylar Spence: Prom King |url=https://spectrumculture.com/2015/10/11/skylar-spence-prom-king/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Spectrum Culture |language=en-US}} song whose title references Degrassi.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{stars|3|5}}.

| rev2 = Pitchfork

| rev2score = 7.0/10{{r|:1}}

| rev3 = No Ripcord

| rev3score = 6/10{{r|NR}}

| rev4 = The Skinny

| rev4score = {{stars|4|5}}{{r|Skinny}}

| title =

| subtitle =

}}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".

AllMusic and Vulture described the album as "effervescent", while No Ripcord described it as having a "youthful exuberance and bouncy sheen". Stereogum wrote, the album "feels like the best and brightest golden moments of summer". Similarly, No Ripcord described it as a "consistently fun summer album". 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".

Critics have commented on how the album uses nostalgia. According to Pitchfork, the album succeeds despite its "distanced, conceptual take on pop nostalgia". 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".{{Cite web |last=Hawthorne |first=Katie |date=September 2, 2015 |title=Skylar Spence – Prom King - Album review |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/skylar-spence-prom-king |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=The Skinny |language=en}} 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". In contrast, No Ripcord, wrote that the album over-indulges in its nostalgia, and critiqued his boyish voice and the "attention-grabbing title". Spectrum Culture likened the album's nostalgia to how Daft Punk used disco in their 2013 album Random Access Memories.

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". According to Pitchfork, the choice to not only feature pop songs makes the album more distinct, but sometimes over-indulgent. No Ripcord described the instrumental tracks as the album's weaker half due to them being dated and unmemorable. Spectrum Culture praised the album for being cohesive despite its genre variations, writing that the instrumental tracks "fit seamlessly into the album".

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.{{cite AV media notes |author-link=Skylar Spence |title=Prom King |year=2015 |publisher=Carpark Records |id=677517010718 |first=Skylar |last=Spence}}

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

{{reflist}}

• [https://skylarspence.bandcamp.com/album/prom-king Prom King by Skylar Spence] on Bandcamp

Category:2015 debut albums

Category:Pop albums by American artists

Category:Dance music albums by American artists

Category:Carpark Records albums

Category:Albums recorded in a home studio