Australian pop star Troye Sivan has found a confident home in dance-pop music. His 2023 album “Something to Give Each Other” was a stellar example of the genre, blending bright pop production with echoing club beats — all while exploring the complexities of party culture, sex and romantic love. The record was critically acclaimed, and Sivan went on to tour the album both solo and alongside electronica star Charli xcx, where he co-headlined arenas and finished his album cycle for “Something to Give Each Other” on the ultimate, party-fueled high.
However, the unfortunate reality of club culture is that the party cannot last forever. Released Friday, Sivan’s most recent album, “She’s the Best,” is unable to seamlessly continue the comprehensive success of “Something to Give Each Other.” While the album does contain powerful tracks which combine fresh sounds with Sivan’s familiar templates, certain songs get lost within their own musical experimentation, which comes at the expense of more complex themes and lyrics.
“She’s the Best” opens with its titular track, which paints a glittering image of a woman Sivan sees as the ultimate party girl and female icon. “DJs from Wednesday to Monday / Don’t ask, she’s not taking any f—king requests,” Sivan sings, recognizing this woman’s confidence by saying, “That girl / She’s the best.” Beneath the lyrics, an atmospheric instrumental brings a new sound to Sivan’s catalogue, without seeming like a complete departure from his signature style.
“Canada Dry” follows as a sweaty, sexual anthem where Sivan lusts after a man, saying he wants to “sip [his] body ‘til it’s Canada Dry.” Sivan’s lyrics are vivid, capturing the heat of a dance floor as he sings, “Something ‘bout this temperature is ripe for desire / And right for this beat, it’s taking me higher.” The song is also expertly produced by a group of six engineers including Sivan himself, combining drum machine beats and modulating synthesizers to create a classic, club-ready sound that feels like Sivan at his best.
The third track, “Party,” is a more basic partying song, with simplistic lyrics that may feel slightly repetitive. Sivan repeats “Party in the park / Party in the bush / Party under the bridge,” and other party locations throughout the song, with the only lyrical breaks being a sample from the song “Music” by Madonna. Punchy electronica production keeps the song feeling sonically fresh, but the stale lyrics keep the song from reaching an artistic pinnacle.
Next is “I Do This for You,” an eclectic song about Sivan’s unsuccessful search for a romantic partner. Spoken-word lyrics are layered over a unique, jazzy beat as Sivan repeats “I do this for you (Whoever you are),” referencing his efforts to find this future lover. A dreamy refrain brings the song more emotional context as Sivan sings, “I’m just a little lonely / Wake me when it’s over” — a dissociative sentiment which is brought perfectly home by the song’s main sample, lyrics from “Dream” by the 1990s band Forest of Trees. Even with external musical inclusions, “I Do This for You” feels seamless and polished, and is undeniably one of the best songs on the record.
However, “Cowboy” — the album’s fifth track — struggles to continue this sonic and emotional growth. The song’s somewhat plain lyrics float on top of a familiar indie-pop instrumental, feeling untouched by any of Sivan’s personal artistry. "Embarrassingly" brings more to the table as Sivan admits to fantasizing about an ex-partner, combining acoustic guitar, synth and ethereal piano to create a complex instrumental that pairs well with the song’s catchy melody.
A kind of sequel to “I Do This for You,” “Le Boy” continues Sivan’s search for his ideal future partner. Sivan’s experimentation with synth-pop backing is exciting, but overly familiar, as Sivan creates a sound that is noticeably similar to that of alternative-pop band Magdalena Bay, who are known for their atmospheric synths and layered harmonies. But outside the instrumental, the song’s lyrics are undoubtedly strong, describing Sivan’s daily routine as he waits for a lover to one day join him. Sivan sings, “Learned the guitar, and I wrote him a song / Who knows what I’d be doing had I stumbled upon / Le boy.”
“Sex Star” is a slow, auto-tuned ballad that feels closer to Sivan’s traditional artistic style seen in albums past, where Sivan sings about wanting someone to use him sexually, and to just be a “sex star.” “Troye Meets World” smashes through as an expansive, high-energy reflection on Sivan’s current place in the world. Both “Sex Star” and “Troye Meets World” are sonically intriguing, though most of their lyrics are not overly remarkable.
The following track, “FF,” brings Sivan’s lyrical prowess back with a dreamy imagination of Sivan’s life with his future partner, where he says they will be “f—king forever,” or “FF.” Sivan writes stunning, detailed lines about the depth of his love for this hypothetical person, singing, “Put petrol in the car, let it drip on my sleeve ‘cause you say it smells sweet.” Lyrically, “FF” stands out as perhaps Sivan’s best showing on the record, reminding listeners of what he is truly capable of as a songwriter.
The penultimate track, “Love So Big It Hurts” is a love song that continues this lyrical resurgence, with clever lyrics that fit well over an upbeat, guitar-centric instrumental. “Try kiss me and I’ll kiss you first / Got you, f—ker, Uno reverse,” Sivan sings, balancing youthful confidence with larger contemplations on the vulnerability of being in love.
However, “Lost Time,” which features French-language lines from actress Lily-Rose Depp, ends the album on a slightly pale note by falling back into the same habits which mar other songs on this record. The instrumentation is certainly unique, layering slow 1990s-inspired beats beneath Sivan’s own auto-tuned vocal, but the song’s lyricism is not as strong as its sonic identity. Sivan sings, once again, about his future partner, saying that he and Sivan will stay home and “[make] up for lost time,” but the lyrics feel somewhat simplistic in comparison to those on songs like “FF,” as does the topic material.
Overall, “She’s the Best” does bring out remarkable work from Sivan, namely that on “I Do This For You” and “FF.” “Canada Dry” is a surefire hit, as is “She’s the Best,” but many other songs fail to show the triple-threat version of musicality, lyricism and presentation that was at an all-time high on “Something to Give Each Other.”
It is admirable for an artist to experiment musically, but when the experimentation interferes with other aspects of the song — namely the lyricism — problems in artistic execution can arise. There is a promising version of “She’s the Best” beneath the album’s surface, but unfortunately Sivan was not fully able to communicate it.
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