Troye Sivan’s 2018 album Bloom painted a portrait of latent teenage desire with a wide, rose-colored brush, even as the Australian pop singer recounted a predatory tryst with an older man who he met on Grindr. And on his new EP, In a Dream, Sivan comes to grips with the aftermath of a doomed relationship, consciously portraying the greenness of those first-time experiences with more seasoned perspective, as well as mindfully considering the beliefs and misconceptions that he innocently held as a teen.
Sivan’s optimism hasn’t completely dissipated. On “Rager Teenager!,” he runs into a former lover, and as a wistful synth melody reaches a crescendo, it becomes impossible for Sivan to conceal how much he’s missed him: “I just wanna go wild/I just wanna do some shit just to try/In your car tonight/In your bed tonight.” His head keeps his heart in check, though, and keeps him at a safe remove as he knowingly calls himself a “lil rager teenager.”
Producer Oscar Görres transfigures Sivan’s rather morose musings on wasted love into dazzling dance-pop. The urge to exorcise one’s worries on the dance floor is an immortal ritual that can be traced from Gloria Gaynor to Robyn, and Sivan invokes this tradition on nearly every track here. “Stud” begins as a plaintive piano ballad about the toxic male beauty standards that proliferate in the gay community: “What’s it like to be so big and strong and so buff?/Everything I’m not but could I still be a hunk to you?” Then Görres’s whizzing synths and pulsing percussion overtake the track and Sivan’s robotically distorted vocal asks a little more confidently: “You’re into this, right?” As the tempo slows, Sivan’s questions seem less like inquiries and more like attempts at convincing himself that his love interest reciprocates his adoration. The fantasy offered by the dance floor proves to be only temporary.
The music video for “Easy” depicts Sivan as a David Bowie doppelganger, complete with face makeup, a shock of red hair, and a ’70s suit. But if this homage is meant to cite the Thin White Duke as an inspiration, the music itself isn’t quite as sonically or lyrically ambitious as that influence would suggest. Throughout the EP, Sivan’s dreamlike imagery ultimately just serves as a trippy motif: “The wood is warping/The lines distorting,” he sings on “Easy” without further explanation. This is the furthest Sivan has strayed from his particular strain of synth-pop, aided by Görres’s production pyrotechnics, but rather than significantly alter or challenge the singer’s previous approach, In a Dream merely embellishes it.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
