Album Review: Shawn Mendes – Shawn

Shawn Mendes was one of the very first pop stars to be born from social media. First discovered through song covers posted on the now-defunct video app Vine, he became one of the breakout stars of the 2010s with his first album Handwritten debuting at No 1. However, in more recent years he has become best known for his high profile relationships with singers Camilla Cabello and Sabrina Carpenter. His 2021 tour was cancelled after just three weeks due to mental health concerns with Mendes the taking a three-year hiatus from live performance. His return comes in the form of Shawn a self-titled folk album that promises an honest reflection on the past years.

The album moves away from the pop Mendes is known for. It opens with Who I Am a stripped-back folk-inspired number. The song has limited production with quiet backing vocals and acoustic guitar. This lets his vocals shine his crooning tone perfect for folk stylings. The lyrics are unflinchingly autobiographical as he sings “It broke my heart when I cancelled the tour” and explains his long absence citing “pressure” and fear of letting people down. The song is quiet but boldly addresses the question on many listeners’ minds from the get-go. Similarly open and autobiographical is The Mountain, a song that addresses his much much-discussed sexuality. He sings “You can say I like girls or boys”, as he rejects others’ views of him and expresses a desire to escape judgment.

While the folk-inspired songs are intriguing Mendes’s explorations into other genres are more mixed. He tries on a bluesy vibe in Nobody Knows and doesn’t quite pull it off, his voice is slightly too soft and poppy for the strained soul sound he’s reaching for. However, the song is still interesting for breaking away from the acoustic guitar sound that backs almost every song on the album. He also tries out his version of the often-covered Hallelujah as the album’s final track. While his voice does sound nice, in taking on his own version of such a famous song he holds himself to comparison and unfortunately doesn’t offer up a new or particularly interesting take.

Where Mendes shines and can find his feet is in pop. And in the country-pop song Why Why Why he creates a fun line-dance inspired track.The mandolin backing and fast paced drumline making it one of the album’s most catchy songs and blending his pop roots with his more country-inspired style allowing him to create a truly memorable track. Heart of Gold also has a more fast-paced country backing, while still being infused with a more emotional sound. It’s emotive and affecting, and with an interesting 70s-inspired production that makes it stand out.

In Shawn, Mendes tries to become more honest and personal and partially succeeds. The more emotional tracks do tug at the heart strings but at points the honesty tips over, becoming just too specific to feel at all relatable. For Mendes fans, the lyrics are sure to hit but could alienate a causal listener. There are some very good tracks, with Why Why Why particularly standing out, but overall the album is perhaps too stripped back and gentle to really make a splash.

Eleanor Carr