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From the first notes of the first song, Shawn Mendes’s fifth studio album, Shawn, is refreshing, freeing, and well worth the four years it took for it to see the light of day. The thing about Shawn that is most striking is the tangibility of the emotion laced throughout the project; the intro ‘Who I Am’ sees Shawn flipping through his past regrets, simply stating “I don’t know who I am right now” and he even references the moment most fans knew Shawn was struggling with his fame and artistry: “It broke my heart when I canceled the tour.”
Standout tracks: ‘Who I Am’ ‘Nobody Knows’ ‘Heart of Gold’
My favorites: ‘Why Why Why’ ‘Heavy’ ‘In Between’
Released as the first taste of Shawn back in August. the upbeat acoustic track ‘Why Why Why’ sees Shawn emerging from the pains of the past, content with the unknown and the journey he’s experienced to bring himself back to where he is now. Somehow both turbulent and exuberant, ‘Why Why Why’ is everything Shawn is - reminiscent of his roots while also grounding itself somewhere deeper than his past music has. When ranked against past Mendes singles like ‘Stitches,’ ‘If I Can’t Have You,’ and ‘Treat You Better,’ ‘Why Why Why’ should have dominated the charts - it’s just that good.
What Shawn has that has been absent from Mendes’s previous work is the lack of fear to face even the harshest of emotions. ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Heavy’ touch upon grief, loss, and regret in a truly powerful way. He sings: “Honestly/It's been a while since I've thought of you/In the end we didn't talk much/I didn't know what you were going through.” From their multidimensional harmonies, resounding instrumentals, and lyrical rawness, these tracks turn a page into a new version of Shawn Mendes.
Even the tracks that spin the inner musings of Mendes’s growth back to the spotlight are soul-baring, with ‘That’s the Dream’ being a whimsical spin through his dreams for the future and ‘Nobody Knows’ being a resounding plea for a moment to live in the nostalgia of the past when fearing for the future. These tracks pull from the sonic inspirations of artists like John Mayer and Niall Horan, both of whom Mendes has acknowledged as influential figures in the creation of Shawn.
Perhaps best listened to in a snow-covered cabin in solitude, hidden amidst an evergreen forest, tracks like ‘Isn’t That Enough’ and its interpolation ‘In Between’ are innately human, as Shawn sings soft lines like “My hand's still shakin', my mind's still racin' My heart's still breakin' in two” and “You were saying, ‘Guess I'll see you never,’ with tears in your eyes/It's so like you to get clever when you don't wanna cry.”
A cover of ‘Hallelujah’ is the culmination of Shawn, where Mendes has the opportunity to let his unparalleled vocal talent and deep gratitude for the battle he’s endured to refind his place as an artist carry him seamlessly through the recording. Shawn has allowed Shawn Mendes the opportunity to embrace the softer side of his artistry, holding on to the lightness and satisfying acoustic-pop of his roots while grounding himself deeper in his emotions, experimenting with folk-rock, and transforming into a version of himself that will carry his career into its next chapter.
AM I OBSESSED?
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