Troye Sivan - Something To Give Each Other (Album Review)
Tuesday, 17 October 2023
Written by Katie Macbeth
Photo: Stuart Winecoff
It has been a long five years since Troye Sivan released ‘Bloom’, an album that received praise for vulnerable, defiant tracks that honestly discussed his experiences of being a queer man, enabling Sivan to situate himself as one of pop’s most essential voices. Its follow up, ‘Something To Give Each Other’ adds further colours to his palette: it is a 10 track celebration of sex, community, queerness, love, and friendship.
Moving swiftly away from the innuendoes found on Bloom, Sivan opens Something To Give Each Other with an extended cut of the album’s lead single, Rush, named after the popular poppers brand of the same name. It’s a perfect club track that sees the Australian arrive at his most confident — meeting, and kissing, a stranger on the dancefloor, and detailing the resulting surge in endorphins. It gets more exciting with every listen.
One Of Your Girls allows Sivan to further embrace the fun and exhilaration that can be found within new experiences. He talks of men who have never been with another man before over a perfect blend of acid house and funk that pays homage to the ‘90s.
Got Me Started then interpolates the Bag Raiders’ 2008 hit Shooting Stars, which gained popularity in internet meme culture in 2017. A representation of freedom for Sivan, the track enables him to realise that he can be content on his own and that his moments of sadness can open new possibilities.
Incorporating UK garage-inspired beats with two-step and Sivan’s now signature dance-pop style, it is more exciting and complex than what one might expect from a track that samples a meme.
The emotional peak of ‘Something To Give Each Other’ arrives with another sample, namely Jessica Pratt’s softly spoken vocals from Back Baby being threaded through Can’t Go Back, Baby, a poignant break-up song set amid the dancefloor anthems, offering Sivan a moment of introspection and reflection.
Set alongside one another, these diversions amount to a bold, daring, reinvention for Sivan. A testament to his newfound sense of liberation, the record confronts the anxieties that have weighed him down in previous years. The result is a powerful collection of dancefloor-ready beats that will leave listeners energised and uplifted.
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