Most people who knows me or follows me on social media is aware of the amount of love and undying support for a Canadian singer-songwriter: Shawn Mendes. Mention anything Shawn-related and you’ll see a different side of me. (Try it and you’ll find out 😂)
Last year’s Shawn Mendes The Tour was literally the best night of my life. Like many other artists, Shawn put together a new album during the pandemic. The announcement of a new album in October really got me excited. All the hyped that was built around the new sounds and honest feelings had me looking forward to 4 December. Like any fan in the Mendes Army, I got on the Wonder bandwagon and collected little Easter eggs of the new album from interviews and live performances of the promo for the title track. I was on a hype for the album release and counted down to the minute it was released, despite the time zone difference and while in the midst of a work day. Yes, this is how much I adore him.
Here’s my personal take on Wonder the album.
Wonder is good but not the best, because I honestly think that it could be so much better. At this point, Illuminate still stands as my all-time favourite album – who can deny Shawn crooning away to John Mayer-esque tunes?
Lyrically, it does not hit the spot for me as they are on a very surface level. All the words about love, being in love and struggling with reality would be better if he had dug deeper with how all these feelings actually made him feel. Now it sounds like a mere declaration. I wonder if this is his take on being completely honest underneath his well-loved charm and personality.
What makes this album good is how it sounds. I suppose with mediocre lyrics the focus is more driven towards the music. It has a good mix of inspirations from various eras of music: 60’s/70’s, The Beach Boys, Beatles, dance pop, and a tiny bit of John Mayer. I love how Shawn is putting his own touch to music of different genres, and aced it with a few songs (Wonder, Teach Me How To Love, Dream, Song For No One, Piece of You). His vocals are so good and smooth, and his falsettos are top notch – it is evident that his hard work is paying off very well.
Intro flows nicely with Wonder, which tops the list of my favourite songs from Shawn. The way these two songs fuse together set a benchmark of what I’d expect the rest of the album to sound like. When I listened to the whole album in chronological order, I don’t feel the album – not even after a few more rounds of listening. More on this later while I dive in to some of my favourites from the album.
Dream sounds like an inspiration from The Everly Brothers’ ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’ with a modern touch to the music with the synths and the harmonies in the background that blends so well. Listening to it feels like a dream. Teach Me How To Love is an instant reminder of Harry Styles’ ‘Watermelon Sugar’. This R&B-funk combo about coming of age is nicely done and Shawn nailed the dance-pop vibes. I like Piece Of You because it’s different from the rest of the songs. It’s a good take on a Jet / The White Stripes influence with the synth-rock and somewhat shows a dark side of Shawn.
Song For No One immediately becomes a favourite of mine, lyrically and musically. It’s a take on loneliness that starts off quietly with guitar plucking and builds progressively midway with a 60’s-Beatles sound. Mmm. Look Up At The Stars starts with a tranquil piano arrangement and has a great melody to it. Written as a dedication to fans, this one caught my heart and I can imagine how a mash up with Never Be Alone in concert will have me bawling my eyes out :’)
All in all, Wonder has a wonderful array of sounds that are often grandiose with symphonies of synths and backing harmonies – a redemption of surface level lyrics. This is by far the most interesting-sounding album from Shawn. A couple of songs are nailed down very well, but the attempt of combining a vast mix of sounds from another time and world came off sounding like a collection of songs in a compilation album, something like a ‘Shawn Mendes: Greatest Hits’ kind of album. Nevertheless, Wonder opens up the doors to the kind of music he could potentially dive into in the future. Thankfully his undeniably smooth vocals, powerful falsetto and ever-loving charm that makes this album worth it.
In spite of that, it does not change my love for this Canadian crooner. Continue writing songs from the heart and creating magic in your art. I love you so very much, Shawn Mendes ♥️
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“told you that I really love you
you did not reciprocate those feelings
but that’s okay, I’ll be fine anyway”
Musings 