By Aaron Quinones
Contributing Writer
After five years, Troye Sivan has finally returned to the music scene and has released his new album, “Something To Give Each Other.” Sivan revealed in an interview with Apple Music that it took him around two and a half years to complete this album due to COVID and filming the TV series “The Idol.” In this ten-track album, he says he looks to tell ten different stories and share ten different moments.
Starting off the album, “Rush” is a sweaty club anthem that helps get you to move your body. “Rush” was the first official single from “Something To Give Each Other” and gained a lot of traction for its amazing beat and catchy lyrics. “Rush” debuted at number 77 on the billboard top 100, which is really good for an underground artist like Troye Sivan. Overall, “Rush” is definitely one of the standouts from this album and is the main reason music listeners like me were intrigued to see what other amazing things Sivan could release on this album. I would personally rate “Rush” a ten out of ten.
Next up is “What’s The Time Where You Are?” In this song, Sivan tells a story of two people falling in love in different time zones. Both are doing their own thing and living their lives, but when they get home, they look for each other through music or texts. Sivan gained inspiration for this song when he was talking to somebody he had been crushing on and the person had asked him, “What’s the time where you are?” This song is very upbeat, and hearing Troye Sivan’s voice on this beat just sounds so amazing. I would rate “What’s The Time Where You Are?” a seven out of ten.
In track number three, “One Of Your Girls,” Sivan uses his voice to explain what most gay men go through. A lot of young gay people fall in love or get crushes on straight men and they allow themselves to be molded by someone who isn’t clear on their own sexuality and they go with it because they are desperate to be loved by the person, and to be loved back. “One Of Your Girls” is the third single from this album and is currently gaining a lot of attention from the LGBTQ+ community because of how relatable the song can be for people. This song uses a robot-like voice in the chorus which makes it unique and different from what’s currently out in music right now. I would rate this song a nine out of ten.
Up next we have “In My Room” which features Spanish singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente. Sivan lets Guitarricadelafuente sing the chorus in Spanish while he sings the verses. The story behind this song is Troye is a teenager in his room daydreaming about someone that he likes. Guitarricadelafuente is the only artist featured on this entire album, and Troye revealed to Apple Music that he’s glad that the only artist that’s featured on his album is a queer artist. I would rate “In My Room” a nine out of ten.
In track number five, “Still Got It,” Troye talks about a moment when he had bumped into his ex-boyfriend and realized his ex still had all the things that made Troye fall in love with him. In the song, it talks about how people can go from living with each other and being in love to greeting each other like old colleagues. Sivan revealed to Apple Music his favorite lyrics from this song are “Said hello like an old colleague.” This song is very slow-paced compared to other songs on the album, but Troye’s voice sounds so angelic that it works. I would rate “Still Got It” a seven out of ten.
Track number six, “Can’t Go Back, Baby,” is one of my favorite songs from the entire album. In this song, Sivan talks about how he was performing songs on national television about the guy he was at the time with. The guy was actually sneaking other guys in the house and cheating on him. It also talks about how although you can still have love for someone when they do the absolute worst, you cannot go back to them due to their inability to change. I would rate “Can’t Go Back, Baby” a ten out of ten.
“Got Me Started” is the seventh track on the album but the second official single. “Got Me Started” samples Bag Raiders’ 2008 hit “Shooting Stars.” In this fun dance pop song, it talks about meeting someone at a party and not being able to keep your hands off one another. Sivan revealed that “Got Me Started” was the first ever song recorded for this album to Apple Music. I would rate “Got Me Started” a ten out of ten.
Next up we have “Silly.” This song is personally the weakest song on the entire album for me. Although the song is decent, it just doesn’t stand out like the other tracks. In this song, Sivan tries going for a cool, sexy-type song, but it overall just doesn’t hit the nail on the coffin. I would rate this song a six out of ten.
Track number nine, “Honey,” is a song you could lay down and relax to. This song tells a story of a person gaining strong feelings for a person but not knowing how to express them. The lyrics “I don’t pray a lot, God knows, But I’m calling in favors like I believe” symbolize how badly the person wants the person they like to know how they feel, but they are just so nervous and scared to tell them. This message is something almost everyone can relate to, which is why I would rate this song a seven out of ten.
The final song off the album, “How To Stay With You,” is about the struggles of maintaining a long-term relationship. This cruisy song happens to have nice saxophone playing in the background. Troye talks about his current journey, how he is currently enjoying all of it and is curious to see what happens to him, not only career-wise, but with his personal life as well.
Overall, “Something To Give Each Other” is an amazing album, and if you haven’t listened to it, you should. Troye Sivan has never been this confident in his music and it shows. He’s using his voice to make sure all stories are heard and making sure anyone can relate to it.
