Dream-pop dream boy Troye Sivan debuted high in the charts with his first EP TRXYE last year in several different countries as a surprise to many industry execs. Sivan, a youtuber turned musician, has bridged a gap that few can do. The success of youtubers in the music industry is almost unheard of. With a cult following of young girls through youtube and a musical audience much broader than that, Sivan topped the charts with the likes of Taylor Swift and The Weeknd with his epic new synth-pop EP, WILD.
The EP begins with the title track “WILD” and it lives true to its name. The song begins with a chant of choir children and makes you feel like you’re at a playground in Brooklyn. It’s a nice introduction into the EP as it transition’s into Sivan’s vocals with a catchy snapping beat to make you nod your head or tap your feet to the tune. It’s the happiest song on the EP and it has you smiling while listening to it. The track makes you want to dance with the new love that’s driving you “wild” on a summer’s day in the park.
“BITE,” a quieter song, is the next track up on the album. The best way to describe it is chill. It’s slower than some of the other tracks, and very unique sounding, especially during a bridge when Sivan says “kiss me on the mouth” in an edited voice that is a perfect pairing to the beat that comes in at the same time that has you swaying to the beat. It’s a more experimental and developed sound than we are used to from Sivan, but it’s accepted with open arms.
The piano track comes in with “FOOLS,” until it’s not a piano track anymore. An intro piano melody leads us into a description of Sivan’s home where there are “swimming pools and living rooms and aeroplanes” and “quiet nights poured over ice and Tanqueray” where a risky relationship is beginning. As the beat drops, we learn the song is about falling for someone that everyone knows you shouldn’t go for and you know wouldn’t work, but you do anyway. It’s a song about regret.
Sivan’s first collaboration of the EP comes in with “EASE” a track co-written and co-recorded by Broods, the brother-sister duo hailing from New Zealand. The two artists tastes melt perfectly together a song reminiscent of a song that would fit in perfectly to Broods’ debut LP. The catchy melody could easily hide the beautiful lyrics, but the song deals with the issue of not feeling okay, and trying to find comfort and to feel at “ease.” Sivan perfectly captures the doubts and discomforts about being in the limelight, saying, “the truth is, the stars are falling, babe and I’d never ever thought that I would say I’m afraid of the life that I’ve made.”
“THE QUIET” is the most experimental sounding track on the EP, with its singularity stemming from the way the vocals are sung in relation to the beat. It completely captures the listeners attention. It is not expected out of any typical pop song. “THE QUIET” sounds like the opposite of a Top 40 track and it is so refreshing. The focus of the song is the way the vocals fit in between the layers of instrumentals and as the beat drops in the chorus, it makes you want to move your whole body for 10 seconds, then it transitions back to the precisely placed vocals. It’s a song that would fit into any pop or electronic playlist you would find in the indie section.
The EP closes with “DKLA,” an abbreviation for the lyrics, “don’t keep love around,” found in the song. It’s the second collaboration on the album, this time with Tkay Maidza, whose rap is featured on the track. This song fits in with the likes of many popular hip-hop artists, mixed with the moody vocals of Sivan. It has several different trap beats present on the track and doesn’t fit into the traditional frame of may songs. The abrupt ending is the perfect close to the EP.
As a whole, Sivan breaks several boundaries with this EP. WILD is a piece of work to be enjoyed as a whole, and it’s six songs sound like they were made to be played together. It’s nice to see an artist stepping onto new frontiers, not only musically, but socially. It should be perfectly normal for a boy to say “he” in a song, and yet it isn’t. Sivan brings us a step in the right direction by bringing nontraditional ideas and a fresh synth beats to the mainstream pop world. The young new musician is sure to have a successful career changing the dynamic of pop in the media and we are all interested to see what he has in store for the future.
4/5
-Kim
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