Troye Sivan, a youtuber by trade, has changed artistic mediums and entered the music scene, bringing an atypical sound of most young teen pop stars. The EP contains only five tracks, but each one suits Sivan’s mellow voice.
The album starts out with bright wavy synths of a happy pop tune but soon enough they are like robotic xylophone raindrops and a deep undertone of a baseline settles in. The first song is “Happy Little Pill.” The music is very full and meaty, yet Sivan’s vocals have an emptier, hollower, and more sad tone. The nineteen-year-old dives into a personal depth about antidepressants while swift snares and thumping kicks in the background give it the needed edge. The song hints at self-medicating with drugs so parents are to be wary, but the lyrics are a masterpiece as Sivan sings “buying happy from shopping carts.” He even gives the inverse version of the quote “clear eyes; full hearts can’t lose.” In his interpretation, he sings ”glazed eyes, empty hearts.” He doesn’t finish the polar opposite interpretation – possibly too weak to admit he can’t win. Creative pop songwriting at it’s finest.
The second song, Touch, is heavily drum charged in the first verse as the overly perfect computer imitation piano plays simple chords. The chorus leads up as the rhythm becomes tight, formal and copying a military-like styling. This song is the most provocative on the album, but nothing is dangerously explicit. Troye brings the innocence of the first kiss. The chorus is heavily filled with synths, a robotic orchestra of strings and a band of unauthentic deadly precise drums.They pulsate till a climax only to be vacuumed back to calamity with a sharp metallic zipper sound. This repeatedly happens. Sivan’s vocals are simple; he practically gives the song to the instrumental which is interestingly and scarily precise and complicated if excluding the imitation piano chords of the verse.
Fun defines itself. Sivan’s voice is cocky as he encourages his partner to trust him on this magical adventure the song seems to describe. The chorus is pop electro and open cymbals clap quickly to speed up the pace, but not enough to add edge. The ending is cliche as Sivan and what seem to be untrained voices sing along as the music drops off, and a stomping beat encourages them to sing somewhat on key. Sivan harmonizes with them and backing vocals to the bubblegum pop song. The song instrumental buzzes a catchy bass line and Sivan’s confidence rings, the swaggered persona sings to a male “Marina and the Diamonds” track.
Gasoline comes in as a saddened Troye returns, this time for doing wrong in the relationship. The melody is a lullaby with early 2000’s R&B vibe with some electronic reverb for his own style. The song is deep and cutting. The lyrics reek with reflective regret and shame. The song perfectly matches Sivan’s vulnerability, it’s instrumental is less layered and light. “Please bathe me now, wash me clean, set my heart on fire like gasoline” Sivan’s hums are reminiscent of a baptism as he wants his sins committed against his lover to be forgotten.
In contrast, The Fault in our Stars is high synths and chimes. It’s a beautiful retelling of the book by John Green. Sivan completes some small runs and changes the volume of his voice; the piano playing is similar to “Gasoline.” The ending of the song is very latches to a Christmas bell vibe.
Overall the album is a well-rounded portrait of a young man, but Sivan has room for improvement in his vocals. The music is intricate, but some more traditionl instruments wouldn’t hurt his artistry, and might make it appear more authentic. Though his uniqueness is worthy of admiration, he should branch out of his style or he’ll end up boxed and comfortable. I will be pleased to see how his artistry blossoms in the future in a full length album.
