Bloom

2018 release. Bloom is an incomparably sweet and intimate work, and yet it's so well-named because from that base unfurls something grand and universal. It's also full of bopsa dizzy swirl of '80s synth-pop, crisp modern production, timeless balladry, and joyous dancewhose bold streaks and subtle shades effortlessly bridge arty to accessible. Sivan executed his vision with care, first writing with trusty collaborator-confidants Bram Inscore, Allie X, and Leland, then taking those songs to producer Ariel Rechtshaid (HAIM, Usher, Kelela) and starting another batch in Sweden with Max Martin's MXM crew. He worked from a sonic moodboardeveryone from Madonna to This Mortal Coil, Phil Collins to Perfume Genius, Drake to Sky Ferreiraand emerged with a sound distinctly his own, but broad enough to span the liberating pulse of My My My!, the epic stadium-rock of Animal, and the cozy feel of Ariana Grande duet Dance to This.