The Loneliness and Passion of Being Young: Troye Sivan’s New Album She’s the Best
BY: MADISON MEAD / STAFF WRITER
Troye Sivan’s She’s the Best, released October 9th with 12 tracks, is an album that feels like a night out that you don’t want to end, with the sad and bittersweet knowledge that it’ll have to. Sivan pairs upbeat pop and club vibes with beautiful and dreamy instrumentals, topping it off with deep vulnerability.
While not every track leaves the same impression, this album captures how it feels to be young and carefree—the eventual sorrow of growing up. Sivan emphasizes the feelings of melancholy and nostalgia from experiencing life moment-to-moment, with the understanding that things will keep changing.
She’s the Best is the next step in Sivan’s music career, blending the best of his past albums. Sivan said in an interview with Apple Music that the album was inspired by the emotional highs and lows of touring with CharliXCX. He wanted to explore how it feels when the excitement of being around other people and partying gives way to being alone and emotionally coming down from the adrenaline and intoxication.
The opening track, “She’s the Best,” shows this contrast immediately. It has a dreamy and upbeat vibe that creates a song that feels real and almost melancholic, with the “morning after” feeling. If that track is the aftermath, the next track “Canada Dry” is the night itself. It’s catchy while sensual and feels like that inevitable make-out in the club. Sivan perfectly recreates the vibes of a night out in these songs.
The track “Sex Star” is another standout on this album and shows the more vulnerable side among these tracks. This song felt as though it was truly about the fantasy of being desired and perfect like a sex star would be, something Sivan conveyed well with a soft and intimate beat to match the message.
Sivan experimented quite a bit with sound in this album, and it shows in tracks such as “Le Boy,” which grabs your attention with astonishingly striking instrumentals before moving into a more relaxed vibe, not far from sounds heard in artists such as DJO and Gorillaz.
On the other hand, “Embarrassingly” feels very much like Sivan’s past albums, using his airy voice and romantic lyrics, mixed with his favorite use of euphoric-like instrumentals, which gives you this main-character moment.
“Troye Meets World” is another distinct song in its own right, yanking you out of melancholy with this incredibly upbeat song that reminds you of being drunk, dancing with friends, with bright lights shining down as you lose track of time. It’s a vibe-filled song that shows how capable Sivan is at capturing the feeling of nostalgia, joy, and intoxication.
On the note of being distinct, “Love So Big it Hurts” definitely takes first place for most beautiful on the album. While the lyrics aren’t particularly innovative, the song stands out in its stunning instrumental and beat.
With an acoustic guitar, a dreamy synthwave, and a deep bass, this song truly hits you in your feelings and runs a reel of all your nostalgic moments. Its sound is also one that’s unique to this album, a beautiful way to hear how much Sivan has grown in his career.
Naturally, the album definitely still has its weaker moments. “Party” relies on repetition, and while it certainly has an upbeat club vibe, some may find it to be a bit over the top and grating.
“I Do This For You” is catchy and introduces the romantic quality to the album, but pales in comparison to the other tracks. Other songs like “Cowboy” and “FF” weren’t poor in any way, and both were very reminiscent of Sivan’s indie roots, but similar to “I Do This For You,” just didn’t quite stand out like some other tracks.
The closing track, “Lost Time,” featuring Lily-Rose Depp, really brings the album's themes together. It starts with Depp’s frankly hypnotic French, before steady percussion and autotune grab your attention.
When listening, you realize there’s been a story Sivan has been telling, one about a young person navigating constant movement, fleeting moments, and going through life in the city, reinforced by the album's teaser of Sivan walking through New York City. He wants us to understand that the fun and excitement in moments we want to last forever eventually become memories.
She’s the Best is an album that truly felt like a love letter to everyone in their 20s, with Sivan being able to show the fun of the club and being carefree with complicated emotions lying underneath.
While yes, some tracks are less memorable than others, I found the album as a whole very emotional and personal. I could see many of my own experiences in its songs, especially feeling nostalgic for a time of my life I’m still a part of. That’s where Sivan’s music and songwriting really shine through, capturing how beautiful a moment is while reminding us it won't last forever.
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