Troye Sivan’s third studio album, Something to Give Each Other, is his first full-length album since his release of Bloom in 2018. The album is written with confidence as it discusses themes of dance, sexuality, heartbreak, love and friendship. 

Sivan, who started his singing career through posting covers on YouTube, proves through the album how much he’s grown both as an artist and an individual. The album, consisting of 10 songs, runs a little over 32 minutes long.The album explores many variations of pop. 

This era of dance pop started with his single “Rush” that came out in July. Along with the release of the single came the music video, which portrayed a queer party scene. A month after the release of the single came a remix version of it that featured PinkPantheress and Hyunjin of Stray Kids. This garnered a wider audience for Sivan’s music ahead of the album release. 

“Got Me Started” was the second single off the album, which may sound familiar to you if you are familiar with popular memes in 2017. It samples “Shooting Stars” by the Bag Raiders,  a song often used with a popular meme format of people, animals and objects flying through space. This sampling got a lot of attention on social media platforms, like TikTok, which caused large anticipation for the song’s release. 

The first two music videos gave the same dance pop vibe, and were both choreographed by Sergio Reis & Mauro van de Kerkhof. However, the “Rush” music video received backlash online due to the lack of body inclusivity. 

Sivan responded to the critiques in a Rolling Stones article, where he said, “To be honest, it just wasn’t a thought we had — we obviously weren’t saying, ‘We want to have one specific type of person in the video.’ We just made the video, and there wasn’t a ton of thought put behind that.” 

The storytelling in the album is something I haven’t seen from Sivan before. You can feel the growth in confidence through his sound and lyrics. 

When the “Got Me Started” music video came out, viewers were quick to point out how plus-sized individuals were rightfully included in the video.

Before the release of his album, Sivan went on a YouTube livestream in anticipation for the premiere of his music video for his song “One Of Your Girls,” which Sivan dubbed as his favorite song off the album. The video includes Sivan in full drag, and actor Ross Lynch among others, lipsynching the song. Most notably, Sivan gives Lynch a lap dance in full drag.

The song is the third single of the album, and along with Sivan, I would say this is my favorite on the album as well. The song beautifully illustrates a common experience among gay men and other members of the queer community, which is hooking up with straight men. 

Although the album mainly consists of pop anthems, it offers softer melodies that delve into heartbreak. “Still Got It” is a standout on the album, as it reflects on seeing an ex-partner and realizing they still have everything that made you fall in love with them. This track is followed by another emotional tune, “Can’t Go Back, Baby,” which discusses past infidelity. Hearing the songs back to back and then shifting to upbeat “Got Me Started” was an emotional rollercoaster when hearing the album for the first time. 

With the discoveries of new romance and meeting new partners, songs “Silly” and “Honey” delve into the feelings of loving love. Both tracks have an optimistic, upbeat melody in viewing love. They still have that dance element to them, but in a more aloof manner. 

They’re catchy, and they are definitely perfect for hopeless romantics like myself to listen to. 

In “Silly” we get to hear a different sound out of Sivan with his falsetto leading vocals, something we don’t see on his other tracks. “Honey” feels the most familiar to an old Sivan fan as it has a nostalgic sound similar to the tracks on his first album, Blue Neighborhood. Both songs have been on repeat since the album came out. They’re catchy, and they are definitely perfect for hopeless romantics like myself to listen to. 

Sivan’s collaboration with Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente on “In My Room” was a surprise on the first listen. There was some Spanish influence on his track “What’s The Time Where You Are?” However, the only feature on the official album is with Guitarricadelafuente. “In My Room” was a surprise on my first listen. Hearing a Spanish chorus on the album made me instantly fall in love with it, as well as made me look into Guitarricadelafuente’s other works. 

The album closes with “How To Stay With You.” It leaves the listener understanding that this journey of love and discovery is not yet over. It closes with the line: 

“Startin’ again when I got all I wanted/ Startin’ to feel a little bit despondent” 

It concludes the album with the understanding that with all these experiences of heartbreak and new love and friendship, there is no solid answer to what the future holds for Sivan as well as listeners that may relate to the album. The storytelling in the album is something I haven’t seen from Sivan before. You can feel the growth in confidence through his sound and lyrics. Sivan’s debut album that was released when he was 20 years old reflected his lack of confidence in love and his naivety in it. Now, at 28 years old, Something To Give Each Other perfectly illustrates how his new experiences with love have given him a greater understanding of what it means for himself, which others can relate to. 

Overall, the album is meant for queer young adults that need the reminder that a breakup isn’t the end of the world. There will be others out there, but it doesn’t hurt to explore your options and fall in love with yourself first. 

Header by Rafa Villamar