“The truth runs wild, like a tear down a cheek.” This truth being that Australian singer songwriter Troye Sivan’s newest album, Blue Neighborhood is a smash hit. His dreampop love centered anthems such as, Youth and Wild have brought millions to come to love the 21 year old Sivan’s unique style.

The album resonates with many as Sivan’s songs are based off of personal experiences. These personal experiences include his own coming out story which for many in the LGBTQ+ community struck home. He also provides a strong message of “it gets better” such as in the song For Him in which Sivan sings: “And sometimes living’s too hard. We’re like two halves of one heart.” Which show a lovestruck Sivan.

His appeal reaches out especially to teenagers and young adults as they experience the same feeling of growing up that Sivan preaches, such as in his song Suburbia. His ability to connect with his audience is not to be dismissed as many feel interconnected with him through his music.

The album tells stories to the point where you feel as if you know Sivan personally. It allows for the listeners to go through the emotional roller coasters that Sivan felt while experiencing the events he portrays in his music, each tale being able to provide a message for those who are facing the challenges associated with growing up, such as love. He also manages to provide a personal experience of being LGBT in a way that many artist who don’t have the same personal experiences are unable to convey. Each song is widely different from the next which allows for an overall enjoyable listening experience.

Not only does Sivan have a diverse messages, but his music has a unique sound that blends guitar, keyboard and drums into electropop genius. The twinges of EDM incorporated encourages the listener to move with the beat. It also provides emphasis on certain lyrics by incorporating backup singers in the background.

The overall message of the songs is related to progression of life and the human experience. Through the album we see Sivan hitting these pivitoal checkpoints that most experience in life. Whether that’s accepting who you are as a person, moving out, falling in love or losing your innocence: Sivan shows us in the album, the brilliance that life goes on. Which is what I perceive to be the greatest takeaway of one of my personal favorite albums.