Check out A Bit of Pop Music’s Blue Neighbourhood album review!
Troye Sivan premieres final part of Blue Neighbourhood trilogy
For the people who don’t know him yet: Troye Sivan is a singer, songwriter, actor and vlogger from Australia, but born in South Africa. He is rapidly turning into the next big thing with the release of the so called Blue Neighbourhood trilogy. This string of three music videos accompanying his singles gained a lot of buzz all over the internet, which is the perfect build up to the release of his debut full length album with the same title, which will be released in December. Seriously, if you have 12 minutes of your precious time spare, it is definitely worth it to watch this short movie.
Everybody was talking about Troye’s music video for ‘Wild’ in which he introduces the story about two friends who grew up together and at one point discover they are actually in love with each other. Without giving away too much of the plot, the alcoholic and abusive father of Sivan’s love interest causes trouble in the close bond they have together, which leads to a dramatic finale with a funeral in the video for ‘Talk Me Down’. The story that touches upon growing up, coming out, family relations, disapproving and agressive parents, denial, true love and suicide is an ambitious project by Sivan and director Tim Mattia, but they totally pull it off. They managed to beautifully lay out such a big story in a quite limited amount of time. The visuals are stunning and often moving, the acting is spot on and Troye knows exactly how to portray all this in a convincing and emotive way, without being too sentimental. It was brave to film this story which deserves and actually needs to be seen in this day and age, not only to raise awareness and understanding, but also because it is such a beautiful work of art.
And what about the music? It is really special to see how every track fits so well with every part of the story. ‘Wild’ is the most uptempo out of the three with a beautiful soaring chorus about ‘love that hurts so good’ which drives Troye ‘wild’. The children’s choir gives the song a slightly lighter mood as well. ‘Fools’ starts out as a ballad, but then turns into stomping electronic pop during the chorus, realizing he is a fool for falling for his love interest. ‘Talk Me Down’ might be the most emotional track out of the three thanks to Sivan’s heartbreaking delivery. The production of the song in combination with the vocals and heartbreaking lyrics create an atmosphere of sadness, longing for things that are out of reach and at the same time a hopelessly romantic vibe and a little spark of hope. “If you don’t mind, I walk that line stuck on the bridge between us”, he sings in a fragile way. These tracks in combination with the visuals are a lot to take in and will probably not leave your mind soon but that is for the better.