“Something To Give Each Other” by Troye Sivan

One of the best dance-pop records of the 2023.

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick is the latest from Troye Sivan, the latest in a string of excellent queer dance records.

Genre: Pop, Electronic

Label: Capitol

Release Date: October 13, 2023

Vibe: 🪩

Sweaty, sex-positive dance records are having a moment, and frankly, I’m all for it. Like Jessie Ware’s That! Feels Good!, the latest full-length from Troye Sivan, fittingly titled Something To Give Each Other, is so much fun that it’s hard not to get swept up in its infectious energy. Maybe some will think me heaping praise on a record for simply being “so much fun” is overstating its merits. Still, I’d remind any objectors that, earlier this year, Spotify catered to Gen Z sensibilities with a “bummer summer” playlist. This LP feels like a much-needed breath of fresh air—a brief, breezy reminder that it’s okay to be in your feels and indulge your hedonistic side simultaneously. As the now-cringe acronym would have us believe, you only live once. And, on tracks like “One of the Girls,” where Sivan attempts to smooth-talk a straight man into a little nocturnal experimentation, he straddles (lol) the line between sly and seductive. “Give me a call if you ever get desperate/I'll be like one of your girls” is one of those lines that’s so catchy and hilarious that it’ll surely have at least some pop culture staying power.

You don’t have to wait long for the record’s high point, “Rush.” Anchored by a winding house groove punctuated by a chant-worthy chorus, the song presents Sivan not only as a pop star fully embracing his considerable gifts but also as a queer artist embracing his sexuality. It captures that indescribable feeling of being young, navigating the blur of late-night parties and endless temptation, trying desperately to stay in the moment and stretch every sensation as far as it can go. The music video, directed by Gordon von Steiner, is also one of the best of the year and worth your time. Other highlights include the after-hours ready “Got Me Started,” the lovesick “What’s the Time Where You Are?,” and the joyous comedown “How to Stay With You,” a song that sounds like the moments the first rays of sunlight hit your eyes after you’ve been up all night, looking for connection in all the right (or wrong) places.

Though Sivan already had a couple of toes in the pop music zeitgeist, Something to Give Each Other will surely catapult him onto the mainstream A-list. It’s not like he doesn’t earn it, either.

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈