Troye Sivan, Rager teenager! | Track Review 🎵

“Rager teenager!” marks the best single from In a Dream, the highly anticipated EP from South African/Australian pop standout Troye Sivan.

New Troye Sivan is on the horizon – yay! Come August 21, The South African/Australian pop standout drops a brand-new EP, In a Dream.  Prior to “Rager teenager!” the third single from In a Dream, Sivan released “Take Yourself Home”  (the opener) and “Easy” (the second track).  “Rager teenager!” is the best of the three, hands down.

“Rager teenager!” was written by Sivan and Oscar Görres, like the previous singles (“Take Yourself Home” has some additional writers as well). Görres also produces, giving the listener lovely warm pads, big, pummeling drums, and a great harmonic progression. I would characterize Troye’s sound as ‘liberated’ throughout, particularly the pre-chorus and chorus. His vocals are top-notch; he sounds incredibly masculine, expressive, and sexy simultaneously. Arguably, he sounds more expressive on this particular record.

Examining key sections, the pre-chorus might be the best.  It’s more dynamic than the chorus, and establishes the ‘liberated’ sound:

“I just wanna go wild
I just wanna fuck shit up and just ride
In your car tonight
In your bed tonight
I just wanna sing loud
I just wanna lose myself in a crowd
In your arms tonight
Or in his arms tonight.”

The pre-chorus is varied each time, keeping things fresh and providing variance. The chorus remains the same each time with no variation.  It’s calmer than the pre-chorus but still potent:

“Hey, my lil’ rager teenager
Tryna figure it out
Live in a season of screaming
And turning it out
Hey, my little rager teenager
I’ve missed you around, yeah
Missed you around.”

Besides those two sections, the instrumental outro is a nice touch; a welcome contrast for Troye.

Final Thoughts

All in all, “Rager teenager!” is definitely the best single from In a Dream as of yet.  All three singles have been strong but “Rager teenager!” brings a slightly different vibe, including more assertive and expressive vocals from Troye Sivan.  Maybe it’s the swear words that give it a lift, ha ha.  Mostly, it’s great singing, great writing, and great production.

Troye Sivan • In a Dream (EP) • Capitol • Release; 8.21.20

Photo Credit: Capitol