Troye Sivan - Bloom [Review]

Troye Sivan, originally made famous because of his status as a comedic YouTube personality, has followed up his 2015 album Blue Neighbourhood (which I reviewed here) with Bloom, a work that, for the most part, departs rather drastically from the rather subdued indie sound on the first album. Bloom hints at it on occasion, such as on tracks like "Postcard" and "Running Shoes," but it is overall more of a mainstream and radio-friendly collection of dance tracks than its predecessor. Blue Neighbourhood feels almost like a concept album, seeming to tell the story of a turbulent relationship in a small suburban town. (There is even a brilliant short film titled the Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy which uses three of the album's songs - "WILD," "FOOLS," and "TALK ME DOWN" - to tell a story.) Although a good portion of Bloom, however, is lyrically about Sivan's current boyfriend Jacob Bixenman, it still feels a lot less focused than Blue Neighbourhood. I initially felt rather disappointed by Bloom's efforts, but even though I still prefer Blue Neighbourhood, Bloom has grown on me a bit, as I do appreciate it a lot more than I did when I first heard it, especially since several songs are a lot of fun and are very catchy, with highlights being "The Good Side," "Bloom," "Postcard" (featuring Gordi), "Plum," "Lucky Strike," and "Running Shoes" (a beautiful song that is exclusive to the Target edition of the album). I already reviewed a good portion of the album's songs (the ones that were released as singles), so I am going to limit my discussion here to the songs that I have not yet reviewed.

The album opens with "Seventeen," which is kind of a quiet song with retro production, sounding almost like a pop ballad from the 1980s. (I find this interesting because even though it is a much different song in a thematic and lyrical sense, the album's closing song, "Animal," features similar production, resulting in the album beginning and closing in a similar way.) "Seventeen" speaks lyrically of Sivan having lost his virginity at only seventeen years old to an older man: "And he said age is just a number, just like any other. We can do whatever, do whatever you want. Boy becomes a man now. Can't tell a man to slow down. He'll just do whatever, do whatever he wants." The vinyl edition of the album also includes a reprise of "Seventeen" which is acoustic and much shorter. The second, third, and fourth tracks ("My My My!," "The Good Side," and "Bloom") on Bloom are all previously released singles that I already reviewed. (Check out the reviews here and here.) "Postcard" is one of my favorite songs on Bloom, especially since it's one of the few songs on the album that is reminiscent of Blue Neighbourhood - both lyrically and melodically. The song is a slow and beautiful piano ballad that is lyrically about Sivan missing his boyfriend while they are apart: "Now, I don't sleep unless your body's on me. I won't feel right until we can be underneath everything that's between, yeah. I'm undone about to burst at my seams 'cause I am picturing you beside me, so let me be everything that you need, yeah."

Next on the album is Sivan's sultry collaboration with Ariana Grande, a song titled "Dance to This," which I already reviewed here. "Plum" follows "Dance to This" and is a fun and upbeat pop song that I think might have more than one intended meaning. The chorus declares that "maybe our time has come; maybe we're overgrown. Even the sweetest plum has only got so long." I think that it's likely that, like "The Good Side," "Plum" is about Sivan's ex-boyfriend Connor Franta and that the song is about a relationship coming to an end, but the imagery of fruit rotting also reminds me of a line from the title track from Marina's album Froot: "Leave it too long, I'll go rot like an apple you forgot." ("Bloom" also reminds me a great deal of "Froot," especially since some of the lyrics are even strikingly similar.) The idea there would be that the imagery is sexual in nature and that Sivan is encouraging his partner to get him while he's hot, which wouldn't be too farfetched considering the fact that fruit (or flowers) is used as metaphors for sex in both "Seventeen" and the title track. "What a Heavenly Way to Die" is a low point on the album for me, as it doesn't really do much melodically and falls rather flat and uninteresting. It once again addresses Sivan's boyfriend Jacob (a topic that honestly tires itself out pretty quickly on the album), telling him how being with him is like paradise and how he hopes to spend the rest of his life with him.

"Lucky Strike" is another playful and upbeat track. Powered electronically by synths and what sounds to me like subdued drum machine, it is one of my favorite songs because of its catchy chorus. "You taste like Lucky Strikes," Sivan sings, which is a reference to the brand of cigarettes of the same name. I am reminded of Sivan's song from the Love, Simon soundtrack, "Strawberries & Cigarettes" (which I reviewed here), because of its lyric, "Strawberries and cigarettes always taste like you." I think that it is possible that since cigarettes can be construed as phallic objects and are used orally, the imagery in "Lucky Strike" is meant to be sexual. "Animal," which I already reviewed here, closes the standard edition of Bloom, but Target's exclusive edition features two more songs - "This This" and the aforementioned "Running Shoes." "This This" honestly isn't anything special, but I instantly fell in love with "Running Shoes" upon first listen. It is a melancholy song driven by acoustic guitar, and it features a gorgeous melody with lyrics about a boy whom Sivan seems to have left (likely another song about Connor). It is easily one of my favorite songs on the album and should not be exclusive to the Target edition, but I suppose that it makes owning the Target edition (which I do) feel all the more special. I overall appreciate Bloom for what it is but prefer Blue Neighbourhood, both because of its sound and its more innocent tone. I realize that Sivan is an adult, but because of factors like the somewhat provocative "Bloom" video and the Bloom book (which features intimate photos taken by Jacob), Sivan has become somewhat of a sex symbol, and I don't know how I feel about that.