Troye Sivan’s “Bloom” Wilts
Troye Sivan released his new album, “Bloom” on August 31st.
September 10, 2018
After a short montage of colorful flowers in grainy film, Troye Sivan, 23 year-old South-African singer, appears on screen with a bright red lip, abstract eye makeup, and a loose, revealing shirt. Not even 30 seconds into the, “Bloom” music video, released on June 6, more than a month before his debut album, Sivan delivers a beautiful visual aspect to the song, captivating the audience. This should give a preview of what’s to come, except it doesn’t. “Bloom,” the second studio album since Blue Neighborhood, released in December 2015, fails to deliver and withers next to Sivan’s previous releases.
“Seventeen,” the first song on the album is perhaps the worst. Sivan’s voice sounds heavenly, but the music is overpowering, and Sivan is left quietly muttering in the background.
The lyrics are also an issue. They describe Sivan, a seventeen year old, in a relationship with presumably a much older man. Lines from the song include, “Got something her to lose that I know you wanna take…and he said age is just a number, just like any other…”
This is problematic for many reasons. Sivan sings about his innocence being taken by this one man. Sivan is describing a real encounter when he was 17; he was a minor, therefore, under the age of consent, yet had a sexual relation with an adult. Back in an interview with Attitude in April, Sivan even admits that this song, “sounds a bit predatory, and maybe it was a little bit.” The words are quite repetitive during the song, pushing the message over and over into the head of Sivan’s fan base, mostly teens, which is quite alarming.
The rest of the album, minus two songs, was a flop. They had the same melancholic tone, with similar, too similar lyrics, describing the same lustful, wistful feelings towards a person.
Now, it’s fine to have a certain voice or vibe, however Sivan took advantage of this and released what seems like eight versions of the same song, boring the audience with his wistful words and overpowering instrumentals.
Bloom also features two artists. Ariana Grande, who sang on the track, “Dance to This,” was the redeeming part of the song. Her strong voice, however, managed to outdo the second half of the song, making Sivan seem like a backup vocal.
“Dance to This,” has a ’70s vibe, with disco-esque music, and ironically, it gets old quick. The lyrics are quite repetitive and do not have interesting
enough content to be heard over and over again. It tells a mundane story of a couple trying to get together at a party; the cliché of a sleepless night is used as well, a common theme in pop songs.
On a more positive note, “Postcard”, featuring Australian singer-songwriter Gordi, was a good listen. Gordi was barely noticeable and blended well, unlike Grande who managed to make, “Dance to This” her own song. Her voice complemented Sivan, and her solo lyrics sounded angelic. Rather than the overdone synthesized beats or guitar, piano was introduced as the main background instrument. Sivan croons about a partner’s faults, yet still wanting to be with him.
Another exception was the title song, “Bloom.” This takes on a more upbeat feel compared to the rest of the track list. Sivan’s voice is heard clearly through the music, and the beat flows well. The song’s façade is a sweet love song, with imagery of flowers and gardens. However, when looking more into it, these lyrics are more about an intimate relationship between Sivan and his significant other and being ready to share these big moments in his life with someone else.
Overall, “Bloom,” did not live up to expectations. Sivan could do much better than the sad, boring tracks on this album, and this is proved evident by previous releases such as “WILD,” and “YOUTH.” This album did not bloom, instead shriveling up underneath all the unnecessarily heavy lyrics, and dark music.
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