I’ve been really inspired to create various things since I got an Apple pencil for the iPad at the start of October and it’s made my creativity soar. These beautiful songs have been very inspiring as I create and spend some time with me, for the first time this year. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Click the play button below to listen to the playlist on Spotify.

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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 was fortunate enough to be gifted a Canon AE-1 by a lovely older man a couple of years ago and although I’ve only put 3 rolls through it so far, I always love the results.

Over the last few months I’ve been to Melbourne, Byron Bay, Crystal Castle, and the park with my friend & her babies and brought the AE-1 along for the ride.

The camera is so easy to use and always gives beautiful results, especially when using Kodak Portra 400. Hope you enjoy x

Can’t wait to shoot the next roll!

When those electronic first notes of Dumb Stuff began and the crowd began to roar, I knew I was in for a good show.

I saw LANY last year in Sydney but unfortunately was sick and had to leave halfway through the show so I missed all the hits. When I heard they were coming to Brisbane I knew I had to get tickets and they did not disappoint. I personally thought the crowd was more enthusiastic in Sydney but Brisbane held up pretty well. As magical as the Brisbane show was for the crowd, it seems like it was just as amazing for Paul:

 

brisbane i have no words for what just happened in that room. top 5 maybe top 1 show for me. insane intimate indescribable. the love you gave tonight will carry my soul for weeks thank you x

— paul klein (@pauljasonklein) March 23, 2018

If you haven’t heard of LANY, you probably don’t have Spotify or a Tumblr account. LANY is an American alternative-indie-pop band that formed in 2014 and has risen to popularity over the last few years. They released their first album last year, and it was incredibly popular amongst young adults. Just last week, one of their most recent singles Super Far hit 10,000,000 streams on Spotify which doesn’t include the 19,000,000+ views the video accumulated (to-date) on YouTube.

With a lot of bands it’s about ego, but LANY is about connection. You might think that it’s about aesthetic and synth-pop if you look at their online presence, but being in their presence you realise they have a true love and passion for the music and performing live. The shared connection between LANY and their fans is through feelings, experiences, youth, and self-expression. Even if you haven’t experienced the exact situation or emotion that a song is about, you can still feel it and by the time the audience erupts into applause, it’s almost like you have experienced it.

Of course their first smash hit ILYSB closed out the evening. It was the first song I ever heard of theirs and it did not disappoint hearing it live for the first time.

I wasn’t expecting to like them as I’m not usually into that kind of music, but they really surprised me and I enjoyed their performance a lot. The lighting was also fantastic during their set which is a luxury for a support act but it made all the difference and got the crowd hyped for LANY.

Follow LANY on facebook, instagram, twitter, and their official website which is a tumblr account.

Last month I was fortunate enough to see Passenger perform at the Brisbane Riverstage! That venue is notorious for raining on the night of a concert but fortunately it was beautiful weather and there was not a drop of rain to be seen.

The highlight of the show was Life’s for the Living and the encore – Holes which you can watch on his FaceBook page (I highly recommend it).

It was just a quick post today but I hope you enjoyed it. If you get a chance to see Passenger live, please do so – you will love it.

Last night I went to see James Bay perform up in Brisbane. He’s wasn’t an artist I was desperate to see (the final act I ticked off that list was The 1975 last month) but I enjoy his music and knew he would be good live based on some YouTube videos I had seen. I’m happy to say that he surpassed my expectations – he’s an incredible performer and knows how to work a crowd. That venue can be a bit of a weird atmosphere sometimes but he controlled it really well and got people into it.

My favourite part of the concert was when he called out everyone in the seats to stand up for a song and to be like this one lady wearing black who was clearly in her 60s who had not sat down the whole time.

If you’re interested in seeing him I would highly recommend it. You can see how much he loves what he does and how grateful he is. There’s some people that you see in concert and think “they are not a star” – I did not think that at James Bay. He has something special about him. 

I cannot express in words how much I love this band. There are very few concerts I go to that I don’t want to end – in fact, I think there’s only been three of them in my whole life (I’ve been to a lot of concerts), but this was definitely one of them. I had such an incredible time at the concert with my friend Monia and just did not want it to end. In honour of the album coming out in one week(!!!) I thought it was about time I posted these photos and shared my experience seeing The 1975 live.

What I love about The 1975 is how vastly different each song is from the last. They have a very eclectic sound which is very enjoyable. Their staging was impeccable – the lighting and graphics reflecting the mood of each song and making each one a stand out. My favourite songs live were So Far (It’s Alright), Menswear, You, Girls (everyone went off during this one), Change of Heart and of course, The Sound – even Matty was surprised at how into that song the crowd was.

My only complaint for the entire show was that they didn’t perform their most recent single at the time, UGH! as I love that song and was looking forward to hearing it live. I would’ve preferred to hear that song than She’s American, Medicine or even fallingforyou. I just thought it was bizarre to sell a shirt with UGH! on it and then not even perform the song.

I cannot wait to see them again. It was incredible to see them in such an intimate venue – the same one where I saw One Direction for the first time. It’s always good to be left wanting more, than to wish it was over sooner. 

We all have those bands that have a monumental affect on us throughout our lives. For me, one of those bands was Australian rock band Kisschasy. A few months ago they announced their farewell tour – the final tour before they all go their separate ways and move on to whatever the future holds.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see them perform live twice before; once for their Hymns of the Non Believer tour in 2008 and the other tine as a support act for Good Charlotte back in 2007. I remember standing in the crowd during Black Dress, touching my necklace with my heart-shaped locket – I felt so connected in that moment which is a rare feeling for me.

Seeing them perform live for the final time was incredible. It feels amazing and very cathartic to stand in the second row of one of your favourite bands and get to scream out every word that has meant so much to you throughout the last 8 years of your life.

Unfortunately for me I had a really irritating girl behind me throughout the majority of the gig; she was absolutely smashed and kept hitting me in the head, touching me and trying to talk to me. I ended up having to elbow her away at one stage but she was so plastered I don’t think she even realised what was happening.

The highlight of the night was Black Dress when a bunch of guys from the support act appeared on stage wearing black dresses, stopping Darren Cordeux in his tracks, unsure of how to continue on.

Spray on Pants was a crowd favourite as we screamed out the lyrics drinks are cheap and vinyl’s cool, what do you think of my new shoes?

All good things must come to an end but Kisschasy are forever in my brain.

Last night I went to see One Direction’s Take Me Home Tour in Brisbane! I was lucky enough to catch their last tour in April last year and hoped and prayed I’d be able to get tickets again this year. For days before they went on sale I felt ill at the thought of not getting tickets. I wanted to get Soundcheck tickets and hoped there’d be some left so when I logged in and clicked the link and saw that there was soundcheck tickets I was ecstatic! Then I bought them and realised I was to be seated in Row AA – the front row! Five hundred and some odd days later I was sitting pretty much right in the centre front row with three lovely girls either side of me (they were all 16 so I felt a little old) waiting for 5 Seconds of Summer to take the stage. But lets rewind to Sound Check – I met a lovely girl called Melissa there who I chatted to for most of the soundcheck portion of the evening.

I had a awkward moment with Harry. I was wearing a necklace and it felt kind of annoying so I had my arms around my neck trying to fix it and then Harry kind of looked at me and then crossed his arms around his chest kind of mimicking what I was doing which was funny. It’s like he was teasing me. Harry is so freaking charismatic it’s ridiculous. His eyes bore into yours from across the room. There’s a reason he’s the most popular one of the group – his charm is undeniable.