Wonder / Shawn Mendes / December 4, 2020
- Joshua Yoo
- Dec 5, 2020
- 2 min read
There exists a central and recurring theme throughout ‘Wonder,’ and it doesn’t take much to figure out that it’s love. On his fourth studio album, Shawn Mendes trades in his clean acoustic-driven songwriting for grandiose, romantic orchestration. This theatrical and majestic tone he goes for is ambitious, and admirable, but more often than not Mendes is unable to support the bold and epic production with much thematic or compositional substance at all.
Mendes can’t be blamed for being in love, but for such fervent romance portrayed in the instrumentation and delivery, the writing doesn’t nearly do his ambitions justice, such as on “Can’t Imagine,” where the endearment and intimacy of the serenade is diluted by the one-dimensional and uninspired lyricism. The epic tone of the drum pounds and stacked instrumentation on “Always Been You” also feel somewhat diminished by its derivative writing.
This issue translates to some of the production choices as well, where the lofty grandeur of certain tracks far exceed their structural integrity, and thus the music begins to feel glorious and momentous for no apparent reason. The dramatic isolated and descending piano on “24 Hours” puts listeners in anticipation of how the track will build, but the track quickly falls into a tedious loop of dropped-in strings and cycled lyrics. And on “Piece Of You,” the cool bitterness of the driving instrumental is negated by Mendes’ wavering vocal delivery.
The growth is apparent, the aspirations are high, and Mendes seems to be expanding his artistry quite a bit. But ultimately, he bites off a lot more than he can chew.
Best Track(s): Monster, Wonder
Lowlight(s): 24 Hours, Can’t Imagine, Piece Of You, Call My Friends, Song For No One
SCORE: 3/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPbUaIZAaeA
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