Shawn Mendes first came to my attention back in early 2016. Somehow I missed the Vine phenomenon which is how he first blew up, but I found him as his sophomore album Illuminate was soaring through the charts and immediately fell in love with the album.

I decided to see him live in Melbourne and it was one of the best concerts I’ve been too (plus I was in the 3rd row so I had a great view)! He sounds just as good live as he does on the album despite his songs getting increasingly more difficult to sing as time goes by. For such a young guy he is so talented, personable, passionate and hardworking. 

His influences, namely John Mayer, Ed Sheeran and Justin Timberlake, definitely shine through on his self-titled album, Shawn Mendes, and he even collaborated with John Mayer and Ed Sheeran which must be a dream come true for a young artist.

I decided to get the light blue/teal colour vinyl known as “Cover III” and I am so glad I did. When the record finally arrived 8 months after the album was released and I got to see the colour in person, I screamed, “IT’S SO PRETTY” with glee. All the months of waiting and frustration was worth it in that moment when I saw the beautiful blue record. I don’t think I’d purchase through Merch Bar again as the wait time was insane, but the quality of the record is great and it was well worth the wait.

I think this record is one of my new favourites in my collection. I already loved listening to Shawn’s previous album “Illuminate” on clear vinyl but I think this will be one that gets a spin quite often because it is so physically beautiful, plus the music is good!

Onwards with the listening & review….

Track 1: In My Blood ★★★★☆

As everyone knows, In My Blood was the first single off the album, and it EXPLODED. It was essentially number 1 in every country in the world when it was released, and I can see why. The song is so personal and shares a lot more about what Shawn goes through sometimes. He isn’t trying to be a cookie cutter heartthrob and just portray what is expected of him. The sound is quite different than Shawn’s previous albums, but also feels like an organic development for him. A great album opener.

Track 2: Nervous ★★★☆☆

Nervous is a super cute and genuine song, however it is one of the least mature songs on the album and feels reminiscent of high school crushes. I think it’s a strange choice for the song following In My Blood which is so deep and heavy, but maybe it was a conscious choice to lighten the mood and to balance the tone of the album.

Track 3: Lost In Japan ★★★★☆

Lost In Japan is a jam but it’s also very much a song that an artist would write on the road, and is one not very many of his fans could relate to. The music in the pre-verse gives it a European quality, almost like he’s in France super far away from the person who he can’t get off his mind.

Track 4: Where Were You in the Morning? ★★★★☆

I’ve got to say, I absolutely love the way Shawn sings this song & I don’t think many other artists would sing it the same way. The instrumentals provide a heartbeat in the background whilst Shawn’s vocals remain prominent throughout.

Track 5: Like To Be You feat. Julia Michaels ★★★★★

As the only collaboration on the album, I think it is perfect, and perfectly done. John Mayer produced the track and I think the simplicity in the repetitive music allows the vocals to shine, and the guitar solo provides that little bit of rest in the song and allows it to build. Julia’s voice is so emotive and I love than Shawn’s voice is present but also allows her voice to shine more than his in certain parts, it is a true collaboration

Track 6: Fallin’ All In You ★★★★☆

When I found out Ed Sheeran was a co-write on this song, everything made perfect sense. I think this is something Shawn has to be careful with when collaborating with artists who are so big, and do write similar music to him. Ed has a very distinct style that is recognisable, even by people who don’t follow artists (look at Love Yourself by Justin Bieber which Ed wrote- there were people who thought it was Ed singing at first). Overall, the song is lovely but it does have a different vibe than the rest of the album and doesn’t quite sound like a Shawn Mendes song, at least not the 2018 Shawn Mendes that uses more electrical guitar than acoustic. Due to Ed Sheeran’s phrasing Shawn has to sing the song in a certain way that

Track 7: Particular Taste ★★★☆☆

Particular Taste is one of those songs that grow on you over time, or that don’t particularly (no pun intended) stand out at first, but it does have a funky beat that gets stuck in your head. For some reason all the songs about girls seem new and like he’s getting to know people, instead of being long-term, intimate relationships. They’re quite immature feelings in a way, being obsessed, playing games, acting like you don’t care about someone. It’s very much what teenagers and young adults are going through which is nice, as Shawn’s relationships and sexuality develops it is reflected in his lyrics.

Track 8: Why ★★★☆☆

This song reminds me a little of Only Angel by Harry Styles in the beginning 20 seconds or so, but then they take very, very different turns. I love the chill vibe of Why and I can picture a young girl listening to this song in her room on a Friday night if she needs a chill weekend. I’d love to see a contemporary dance routine to this song, it would be great to act out as there are so many emotions and specific actions you could do.

Track 9: Because I Had You ★★★★☆

A collaboration with Teddy Gieger and Ryan Tedder, this song is a winner for me. In a lot of ways it reminds me of songs like “Honest” and “Patience” from Illuminate (also some of my favourite songs) where Shawn isn’t afraid to be the bad guy in the story, which is ironic considering his reputation of being the perfect Canadian gentleman. It’s hard to describe why I like it so much, but it does have that “easy listening” quality that I love. Plus the falsetto in the background is pretty nice.

Track 10: Queen ★★★★★

There are a few female celebrities that come to mind every single time I hear this song, and I’m dying to know who it was actually written about. Following the theme of this album, Queen very much touches on celebrity and fame, and the shallowness of it within the exclusive community of celebrity.

Track 11: Youth feat. Khalid ★★★★☆

Inspired by current events, Youth takes on the millennial perspective of the state of the world. Rebelling against politics has become a large part of youth culture and the youth are standing in their power to have their voice heard – we won’t accept racism or sexist commentary anymore, we won’t accept homophobia, we won’t accept capitalism ruining the environment. It’s impossible not to be plugged into these things. Youth captures all of those important social and cultural changes that the young generations are bringing to the table.

Track 12: Mutual ★★★☆☆

Yet another confused millennial “love” song. With the amount that we communicate online these days, I think we are all more confused than ever and have no idea what anyone is thinking or feeling. Almost every young person who is dating gives half of themselves to of someone, and the other half is looking for someone else, someone better. It’s more prominent than ever and it’s interesting to have a song that completely represents millennial relationship dynamics.

Track 13: Perfectly Wrong ★★★☆☆

By the time you get to track 13, you have a pretty real sense of who Shawn is in relationships. For me, I think he chooses the wrong girls every single time, either he isn’t feeling it or the girl is cold & standoffish. I love getting to know this much of an artist through an album, even if I personally don’t relate to much of the content. As a teenager I had to relate to songs to love them (therefore I only listened to pop-punk bands!), but Shawn is so good that isn’t necessary.

Track 14: When You’re Ready ★★★★☆

I’ve got to admit, When You’re Ready isn’t a song I hear a lot off the album but it has grown on me a lot. One of my favourite Shawn songs ever was Understand, the closing song on Illuminate. Understand is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard and the perfect closer for his previous album. I’ve noticed most of Shawn’s music tends to be ‘in the moment’ or set within a short time frame, but his closing songs tend to be ‘bigger picture’ with reference to the future (eg. even ten years from now) which is great as it sets us up for the next album. I’m glad the theme continued into When You’re Ready.

Overall thoughts:

Shawn is a lovely person who is determined to grow as a writer, musician and human which shines through. With each album he grows so much and his songs become more complex. His musical style has evolved from pop, to pop-rock, to incorporating more RNB on his third album. As much as I love this album, Illuminate is still my favourite as the concepts are more relatable and the pop-rock sound is what I am most drawn to.

I can’t wait to see what he releases next.

I’m so excited about sharing my Top 10 records of the year with you! To clarify, these are my top 10 purchases, the albums didn’t necessarily come out in 2016. There were some I wanted to include but I realised that I got them late 2015 so they didn’t count.

Over the last few months I have noticed that I’ve stopped writing in my journal and listening to records. I was all about it at the start of the year but because I’m at the end of a cycle, life has been about cleansing and internally setting intentions for 2017. I’ve needed a lot of quiet in this half of the year, and maybe that’s why I got the job that I did in May (it’s a very quiet, masculine and cold work environment).

Hopefully I’ll get back into records in 2017 and have even more to share with you!

Ed Sheeran – Multiply (2 x 12″)
Colour: Pink. This was released as a part of Ten Bands One Cause.

The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (12″)
Colour: Clear Frosted

Panic! At The Disco – A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (12″)
Colour: Black

The Fray – How to Save a Life (2 x 12″)
Colour: Butter Cream

Oh Wonder – Album (2 x 12″)
Colour: White

Zayn Malik – Mind of Mine (12″)
Colour: Green

The Lumineers – Cleopatra (2 x 12″)
Colour: Grey Marble

Lukas Graham – Self Titled (12″)
Colour: Black

Fifth Harmony – 7/27 Album (12″)
Colour: Black

Ed Sheeran – Songs I Wrote With Amy (12″)
Colour: Black

I am always up for hearing about music or record recommendations, so leave me a comment with your favourite songs & albums below!

I’ve been wanting to do a “Top 10 Vinyl Records” post for a long time now, but I had no idea how to classify them – should I pick my favourite albums, the records that were hardest to find, or the ones that had the most value personally. I decided to choose this specific Top 10 based on rarity, colour, and price.

When purchasing records I always look out for any exclusive or limited edition versions. For example, a couple of months ago ‘Purpose’ by Justin Bieber was released on vinyl. I had preordered it on Amazon and it was a standard black vinyl edition. Just before the release date Urban Outfitters announced they would be releasing an exclusive clear vinyl of the album. I immediately cancelled my Amazon preorder and purchased the Urban Outfitters version, even though it cost a little bit more. I really love coloured records and although I included a few picture discs in this post, I’m not too fussed on those.

There are two records I am dying to get: English Rain by Gabrielle Aplin (Blue), and A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out by Panic! At The Disco (Gold). They are both astronomically expensive so if I ever see them at a decent price I will pounce on them straight away. But for now, here is my Top 10…

 

What I Paid: Not sure exactly but it was around $120

 

Fall Out Boy – Infinity on High (2 x 12″)
Hot Topic Exclusive
Colour: Clear with Blue with White Splatter
2500 copies pressed.
What I Paid: $24.55 USD

Joan Jett – Bad Reputation (12″)
Hot Topic Exclusive
Colour: Transparent Purple/Opaque Lavender split
What I Paid: $18.99 USD

Clueless Soundtrack (12″)
Urban Outfitters Exclusive Picture Disc (still available)
Colour: Yellow Plaid
What I Paid: $35.98 USD

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – Soundtrack (12″)
Urban Outfitters Exclusive
Colour: Transparent Green
What I Paid: $22.98 USD

5 Seconds of Summer – Self Titled (12″)
Limited Edition Record Store Day Release
Colour: Picture Disc – album cover on one side, graphic design on the other
What I paid: $40-60ish on eBay

Justin Bieber – Believe (2 x 12″)
Limited Edition – only 1000 copies pressed for the VIP package on his Believe tour.
Colour: Picture Disc
What I Paid: $50 for the record + full merch pack from when Justin was in Australia. The insert is signed. It now goes for $500+ on eBay.

Ryan Adams – 1989 (2 x 12″)
Barnes and Noble Exclusive
Colour: Seafoam Green
What I paid: $30.60 USD on eBay – Available for $18.99 at Barnes and Noble

One Direction – Midnight Memories (7″)
Limited Edition Record Store Day Release
Colour: Picture Disc

Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane (2 x 12″)
Limited Edition – 500 copies pressed
Colour: Red/Peach/Black Swirl
What I Paid: $105.12 USD

I’d love to do my Top 10 Records I own in the future so do let me know if you are interested in that. Please leave me a comment if you are a vinyl collector – I’d love to hear about some of your favourites in your collection.