By Ann Reed – Staff Reporter

YouTuber Troye Sivan reminds listeners what “YOUTH” is like with his debut album “Blue Neighborhood.”

Originally from South-Africa, this raised Australian is no stranger to success in the entertainment industry. Troye Sivan is a triple threat; earning success as an actor, singer, and YouTuber, all before even turning 21. The now twenty year old got his first taste of fame at the mere age of fourteen, when he played James in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”,  going on to star in the “Spud” movie franchise, (mostly popular in South Africa) that same year. His YouTube career began in 2007 when he began posting videos of himself singing. It wasn’t until 2014 that he started posting Vlogs, grossing over 4 million subscribers since then.  His debut album “Blue Neighborhood” sold around 65,000 copies in the first week.

“Blue Neighborhood” is screaming with emotion from the second play is pressed to the second the last note is sung. Listening to this album is like having a window directly into Sivan’s soul, seeing him as both an artist and human in the purest form. Opening up on topics ranging from inner conflicts to toxic relationships, “Blue Neighborhood” tells the listener every aspect of Sivan’s life.  Nothing is off limits with lyrics like “This voice inside has been eating at me, trying to replace the love that I fake, with what we both need”, and “So if I’m losing a piece of me maybe I don’t want heaven”, (both from Sivan’s song titled “HEAVEN”). Sivan’s immense vulnerability  helps the listener connect to him as an artist, making them feel as if they was reading an entry from Sivan’s diary. This kind of connection is one that causes the listener to want to listen to this album over and over again, and enjoy it more every time.

The song that epitomizes this album as a whole has to be Sivan’s fourth single, entitled “YOUTH”. This song is a roller coaster, ranging from slow to fast tempo within seconds, reminding the listener of what it was like to be young and sporadic. The phrase “What if” is repeated a total of nine times throughout the song, making up most of the structure of the verses. This phrase instills in the reader the possibilities associated with youth itself. Being young is all about the “what if’s” in life, for you have your entire life in the palms of your hands. You can do and be whatever you want, a feeling often lost with age. Sivan is here to reignite the flame of possibility in listener of all ages, and reignite he does.

With emotion so raw, the fact that Sivan backed up his beautiful lyrics with such overproduced tracks is a little disappointing. While the lyrics are gorgeous, their emotion become muffled with loud electric keyboards and overwhelming bass lines.  Those aspects take away from the meaning of the song, leaving the listener yearning for more out of Sivan. If the artist was to release an acoustic version of this album however, it would be without flaw.

This album is perfect for music lovers who are looking for a soundtrack to their upcoming summer. This album is eccentric, unpredictable, and raw, perfectly epitomizing the “YOUTH” Sivan vocalizes so well.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars