Written by The Lazy Music Reviewer
This is the latest review by the Lazy Music Reviewer. He is too busy listening to and promoting lots of awesome music (ahem and has a full time job) that he simply doesn’t have time to do an in-depth review (or maybe he is just not a good enough writer to write one – you decide) but he still wants to “review”.
So, the way he works is he will sum up each song in just a few words (sometimes even one word – he’s just that lazy) and then also link via other people’s words to other more in depth reviews (because he’s wicked and he’s lazy) for your reading pleasure because it’s always good to get more than one person’s opinion, right?
Troye Sivan Mellet born 5 June 1995, known professionally as Troye Sivan, is a South African-born Australian singer, songwriter, actor, and YouTube personality. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia, a Universal Music Australia label, in 2013 and released his debut extended play, TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Its lead single, “Happy Little Pill”, reached number 10 on Australian music charts. In 2015, he released his second extended play Wild followed by his debut studio album Blue Neighbourhood, whose lead single “Youth” became Sivan’s first single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 23. Sivan has also earned two number-one singles on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
As an actor, Sivan portrayed the younger version of the titular character in the 2009 X-Men film X-Men Origins: Wolverine and starred as the title character in the Spud film trilogy. As a YouTube personality, Sivan used to upload video blogs regularly and, as of 2016, has over 4 million subscribers and over 241 million total views. His video, “The ‘Boyfriend’ Tag”, with fellow vlogger Tyler Oakley earned them a Teen Choice Award in the “Choice Web Collaboration” category. In October 2014, Time named Sivan as one of the “25 Most Influential Teens of 2014”.
Bloom is the second studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Troye Sivan, released on 31 August 2018 through EMI Australia and Capitol Records. The album follows up his 2015 debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood, and features guest appearances from Gordi and Ariana Grande. It was preceded by the release of the singles “My My My!”, “The Good Side”, “Bloom”, “Dance to This” and “Animal”.
Bloom has been called Sivan’s “sex album”, as well as “darker”, “more guitar-driven” and “more danceable” than his previous material. It has also been described as containing material about defiant gay expression; the first song, “Seventeen”, is about a sexual experience Sivan had with a man he met on Grindr. Sivan wrote most of the album with American musicians Leland and Allie X. The album’s production was primarily handled by Bram Inscore, Oscar Görres, Oscar Holter and Ariel Rechtshaid.
1 – Seventeen
“ahh, the youth of today”, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“subversive subject matter about teenage sex with older men a pertinent reminder of the dark underbelly of the queer experience“, The Guardian
“the singer’s experiences entering the hookup-app circuit a little too early”, Vulture
2 – My My My!
“this has it all!“, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“Like a pair of glitter-heeled boots, it begs for you to strut as reverbed drums clack and shake in the background“, The Guardian
“feels euphoric because of the interplay between its growled verses and pulse-pounding chorus“, Pitchfork
3 – The Good Side
“time to chill“, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“a happy-go-lucky folk song whose plinking keys evoke Van Morrison’s 1968 acoustic-guitar-and-harpsichord gem “Cypress Avenue“, Vulture
“loses his way on this Sufjan Stevens-lite track“, The Guardian
4 – Bloom
“this is more 80s than I am“, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“recoups on the early promise of “Youth” with peppy tempos and soaring melodies“, Vulture
“pre-chorus is a nervous whimper—“I need you to tell me right before it goes down/Promise me you’ll hold my hand if I get scared now”—just before Sivan relaxes and enjoys the ride“, Pitchfork
5 – Postcard
“simply beautiful“, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“The honesty and attention to detail in his songwriting puts him on the same level as Taylor Swift. Postcard, his duet with Australian pop-folk singer Gordi, is an excruciatingly real example of this”, Irish Times
6 – Dance To This
“would be better without Ariana“, The Lazy Reviewer
“leans into kinky domesticity, love punctuated by prongs of desire and seductive shuffling beats“, The Guardian
“Sivan removes the club from his romance on, his very sweet collaboration with Ariana Grande, where he lets down his guard even more“, Irish Times
7 – Plum
“fruity”, The Lazy Reviewer
“Sivan also has a knack for gorgeous, concise imagery. On “Plum,” a relationship that’s nearing its end is “like bitter tangerine/like sirens in the streets.“, Pitchfork
“one of the better love songs are with boppy electro-pop“, The Guardian
8 – What A Heavenly Way To Die
“It’s sweet…I think?“, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“so saccharine that your teeth might rot“, The Guardian
“muses on growing old with a partner“, Vulture
9 – Lucky Strike
“suits me Sir!“, The Lazy Music Reviewer
“the sleek, pseudo-tropical highlight“, The Atlantic
10 – Animal
“left wanting more!“, The Lazy Reviewer
“massive closer “Animal” swerves from a menacing rumble (courtesy of Rechtshaid, Jam City, and the Haxan Cloak) to a bridge clearly inspired by Frank Ocean’s Blonde“, Pitchfork
“producers like Haim favourite Ariel Rechtshaid, who makes his mark on the heart-swelling ballads“, Independent
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