In his new album, Shawn Mendes explores a “heavy” narrative of mental health, self discovery and struggles with fame.

After its delayed release, Mendes’ fifth studio album, “Shawn,” became available to fans on Nov. 15. In October, Mendes took to the social media platform X to announce the almost month-long delay. 

“We just need a little bit more time to bring some new inspiration and ideas to life,” the post read. 

His fourth studio album, “Wonder,” was released at the end of 2020, making the almost four-year wait in between albums the longest of his career. 

Since the cancellation of part of “Wonder: The World Tour” in 2022, Mendes has been open about his struggle with mental health, as well as his need to prioritize it.

“I started this tour excited to finally get back to playing live after a long break due to the pandemic,” Mendes wrote in the cancelation announcement on Instagram. “But the reality is I was not at all ready for how difficult touring would be after this time away.”

The album’s first track, “Who I Am,” directly addresses Mendes’ feelings about the cancelation. 

“And it broke my heart when I cancelled tour / Had my soul and my head goin’ back and forth,” Mendes sings in verse three. “And I don’t know how I’m gonna face you now / Sorry, gotta do it, gotta let you down.”

The song’s lyrics suggest that while Mendes expressed his need for the break, he still did not find it easy to make the decision to disappoint his fans. In the same song, Mendes also discusses feeling like he lost touch with who he was as a person, and that the time off was what he needed to figure it out. 

“But I know I gotta do it, gotta put me first / Losin’ myself tryna make you proud.”

“Who I Am” as an opening track sets the tone for the album as an artistic representation of Mendes’ time away and mental health journey. 

Mendes alludes to his struggle with returning to the spotlight again in the album’s second track, “Why Why Why,” by singing “I stepped off the stage with nothin’ left / All the lights were f—in’ with my head / But here I am, singin’ songs again.”

With these two songs early in the tracklist, Mendes establishes the album’s more acoustic feel, a stark contrast to the synth-heavy pop sonics of “Wonder.” 

The stripped-back instrumentals seen in all 12 tracks are more reminiscent of his first two albums, “Handwritten” and “Illuminate.” By returning to an acoustic sound, the singer-songwriter goes back to his roots, just as he asserts he needed to do in the opening track. 

Additionally, tracks such as “That’ll Be the Day” and “Isn’t That Enough” lean more on the country and folk side of acoustic pop than Mendes has previously explored. “Isn’t That Enough,” track five, features the inclusion of a harmonica, adding to the slight country effect. 

Mendes uses track seven, “Heavy,” to start the second half of the album off strong with a soulful confession of running from his issues, but finally being ready to confront them.

“You’ve been rock-steady tryna help me through / Now I’m finally ready to let you.”

Placing “Heavy” in the middle of the track list helps convey a turning point in the progression and improvement of the singer’s mental health without minimizing how severe his struggles were. 

The album’s slight country sound also appears in track eight, “That’ll Be the Day,” which features the singer’s lower range and a banjo-like fingerpicking style. The track also includes layered vocals that contribute to the song’s haunting feel and mentions of death. 

Mendes returns to the theme of fame in track ten, “The Mountain,” with a more positive viewpoint when compared to the first half of the record. Throughout the song, Mendes suggests general things about the public’s perception of him but ultimately implies that their commentary doesn’t matter.

“You can say I like girls or boys / Whatever fits your mold,” he sings in the last chorus. “But I’ve nеver been better / So call it what you want.”

Mendes closes the album with an intimate and vulnerable cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” rounding out a previous mention of God in “The Mountain.” 

“And you can say it was drugs / You can say it was God,” Mendes sings in the first chorus. “But I saw somethin’ out there / So call it what you want.”

Ending the album with Cohen’s famous song leaves the listener feeling calm and reflective, and suggests Mendes’ mental health journey has brought him peace. The addition of string instrumentals to support Mendes’ layered vocals contributes to the feeling of serenity. 

Cohen and Mendes share Canadian nationality, making the choice to include the cover feel like an homage to the singer’s birthplace and a fitting place to end ‘Shawn’s narrative.