Troye Sivan — 28-year-old Australian artist — has released a much-anticipated album. This will be his third studio album after five years and three years after an EP. “Something to Give Each Other” dropped on streaming services on Oct 13. Sivan teased the public with the release of the lead song “Rush” on July 13, as well as releasing the video on the same day.
The album has 10 songs and a runtime of 32 minutes and 45 seconds. The project had the feel of a lovesick club album. Each song, in its own right, feels like it belongs in a club setting. The album has its fair mixes of bops and ballads, each filled with a heavy emotion and it gives listeners a glimpse into his life and his dating scene. The album explores feelings of emotional heartbreak and liberty while also celebrating the queer community.
Rush
The early release of “Rush” set high expectations for the rest of the album. The song is about the euphoric feeling that one can get while they are hooking up. The term Rush is a double entendre for the rush of adrenaline or oxytocin as well as the popular Australian popper of the same name. The song is an upbeat synthetic EDM song that gives you the feeling Sivan intended. The music video is revolutionary in the sense of representation of the young queer community. It does a great job of battling the stigma surrounding being young, sexual and out about it.
What’s the Time Where You Are?
This song starts slower than “Rush” but later on in the song picks up the high energy of typical EDM music. Sivan said the inspiration for this song is when someone asked him what the weather was where he was at and it felt personal to ask instead of easily looking it up on the internet. The lyrics tell a story of waking up after a wild night in Tokyo and then wishing that he was with his significant other, who is presumably in a different time zone than him. The line “This beat is making me move, but god I wish it was you” is enough to almost fully encapsulate Sivan’s longing.
One of Your Girls
“One of Your Girls” is written about “experiences that I had with guys who had not previously been with guys, and were showing me interest,” said Sivan. This is a slower ballad in the mix of upbeat bops. The chorus starts by telling a heterosexual man to call him if they ever get lonely and to pretend that he’s a girl or his best friend just to stick around the said man. Later the line switches to “Give me a call if you ever get desperate,” admitting that a straight man would have to be desperate to be with him. Sivan sings about how, if asked, he would keep these encounters secret. Sivan released a music video for it on Oct 12. The artist appeared in drag next to a topless ross lynch. The inspiration for Sivan’s drag look was young Britney Spears.
In My Room (ft. Guitarricadelafuente)
Artist Guitarricadelafuente, also known as Álvaro Lafuente, is a Spanish singer-songwriter featured in this song. He has a couple of verses in this song, talking about remembering a hookup and re-experiencing high-like symptoms. Sivan’s overarching theme in this piece is about longing for one person in the privacy of his bedroom by himself. The song has some orchestral, dreamlike music and has a calm yet pop-ish theme. It resembles a Latin pop ballad. Each lyric is adoration-filled by both Sivan and Lafuente.
Still Got It
Sad organ ballad about reminiscing on a man liking him a certain way. This song is full of yearning for one person, that he’d had a fling with back in time. He talks about how he’s “still got it bad” for the person in question. The song is a nice smooth and groovy sad song in the middle of this high-energy album. This is the emotional low of the rollercoaster. Everyone has had this feeling and Sivan does a fantastic job of describing that yearning to be wanted by that one person again.
Can’t Go Back, Baby
This song is about a post-breakup conversation and hookup. The lyrics describe how Sivan “can’t wait to live without you,” saying that he can’t wait to move on from whatever limbo he is stuck in. The song samples Jessica Pratt’s “Back Baby” and serves as the emotional fulcrum of the project. The musicality of this song helps create this atmosphere of bittersweet goodbyes and the perseverance of moving forward. “More than just my enemy, you were my lover too,” is a perfect way to fully describe the feeling he hopes to portray.
Got Me Started
Starting with a sample from “Shooting Stars” by the Bag Raiders, the song resumes its EDM club vibe. Troye revealed in a TikTok that this song is about still being hot and worth it after being at an emotional low for an extended period. This piece features the title of the album saying “We got something to give each other” meaning in a sexual sense. The lyrics describe what it feels like to have a new romantic interest. The chorus makes you bop your head whether you like it or not.
Silly
“Silly” possesses heavy vocal layering as well as techno beats. The lyrics describe how it’s silly that he still holds love for someone who knows him, but the person doesn’t want to know him. Meaning that this person was at one point involved with Sivan but no longer wants to be. The song feels like it’s taking you, musically, on a high.
Honey
Starting with an acoustic guitar strum and layered background vocals, the song says to give him that honey because he’s got the recipe, possibly meaning to join him in the community and experience new things. The acoustic turns into another techno beat that should fill a club. Sivan uses the words “I see love in every space/ I see sex in every city, every town,” lamenting that these are the overarching themes of the entire work.
How to Stay with You
Reading the lyrics, the song sounds like Sivan has settled down but is unsure of how to carry on a healthy relationship. Unsure of how to proceed. The musicality of this song differs from the rest of the album because of its slow nature and is less a dance song and more of a crooning ballad.
This entire album is a no-skip staple. After not hearing from Sivan for three years, this is such a comeback. This album belongs in every person’s library — physical or digital.
