On Oct 13, Australian YouTuber turned actor and pop star, Troye Sivan, released a full-length studio album, titled “Something To Give Each Other.” It was his first album in five years, following “Bloom” in Aug 2018. “Something To Give Each Other” is a mix of club, dance-pop and house with elements of pop that are true to his sound as well as an almost avant-garde instrumental in each track. Sivan himself has writing credits on each of the 10 songs.
Sivan teased the album on June 9, posting a video on Instagram containing clips of himself throughout his career before the capitalized word “RUSH” appeared in big orange letters, referring to the first and title track of the album.
“Rush” is named after a drug brand as well as the feeling of dancing with someone attractive. The song was later accompanied by a collaboration with PinkPantheress and K-Pop group Stray Kids’ Hyunjin. According to a Pitchfork article by Evan Minsker, Sivan has said in a statement, “‘Rush’ is the feeling of kissing a sweaty stranger on a dancefloor, a two-hour date that turned into a weekend, a crush, a winter, a summer…All of my experiences from a chapter where I feel confident, free and liberated.” It’s house-pop with a slight Eurobeat vibe. The chorus is annoyingly repetitive, but the pre-chorus makes up for it slightly with Sivan’s falsetto building up to the beat drop. The sultry lyrics are a plus since it adds to the image of the overwhelming joy and euphoria that comes from dancing with random people at a stranger’s house party.
The third track on the album, “One of Your Girls,” is one of the more popular ones. It has a synth-pop style with the synthesizer especially noticeable in the chorus. It begins with a humming that is reminiscent of Conan Gray’s “Greek God,” before Sivan goes into the pre-chorus by speaking in prose that feels out of place amongst his dulcet tones. The chorus is heavily autotuned, almost voice-box sounding, meant to represent “a sad robot thing,” as Sivan describes. It gets tiring quickly though, and the song could do without it. The verses surpass the chorus because of this sentiment. The lyrics aren’t particularly awe-inspiring — there could have definitely been a better word to rhyme “lonely” with than “homies” — but it makes the narrative quite easy to follow.
The best produced track on the album is the fourth one, “In My Room,” which features a collaboration with Guitarricadelafuente. It differs from other collaborations by having the featured artist sing throughout the song rather than just singing a single verse and harmonizing for the last chorus. The lyrics are especially romantic, perfectly encapsulating the feeling of giggling to yourself in bed while texting your crush. The end of the track is beautifully tied together with Sivan singing, “We got something to give each other.”
“Got Me Started” is the eighth and second most popular song on the album. It’s house-pop, the lyrics showing a story of meeting someone at a house party and the excitement of not being able to keep your hands off them. The track opens with a sample of the iconic song “Counting Stars” by Bag Raiders, commonly associated with many memes. It makes the song difficult to take seriously, catching one off guard at first listen. The chorus is purposefully pitched higher, targeting many TikTok users’ love of sped-up versions of songs. However, for those who prefer songs in their original state, “Got Me Started” is not one they would willingly want to listen to. People don’t want Alvin and The Chipmunks in their ears all the time. The provocative lyrics are fun, but the sampling and strange pitching ruin it. If only they were used for a different track — what a fumble.
The outro song “How To Stay With You” is the least popular but best song on the album. As cheesy as it sounds, the best was saved for last. It’s a mellow song with some saxophone nearing the end, a vibe familiar to fans of his previous album “Bloom.” Sivan told Apple Music, “I thought it was a very real way to end it,” and indeed it was. It’s a track that’s relatable for those clinging onto the last hopes of staying with their lover even when they know it won’t work out — a track for the delusionally hopeless romantics out there who have difficulty letting go.
Verdict: This album is worth a listen if pop is your scene, but be warned: it is not what you may expect (or want) if you are a fan of Troye Sivan’s past albums. “Something To Give Each Other” won’t change your life, but, who knows, you might find a new favorite song.
