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Ever since Shawn Mendes appeared on the music scene six years ago, he has been consistently churning out decent radio hits with catchy beats that are a pleasant soundtrack to a morning commute or a quick drive to the grocery store. However, while I wouldn’t change the radio station when his songs come on, I never really cared that much about his music to actually look him up on Spotify and give his albums a formal listen from start to finish.
Then, recently I somehow came across the song 305 from his new album, Wonder, and I really enjoyed the playful beat and summer night energy it evoked in me as I was listening to it. So, I decided to give the whole album a try. Well, I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by the entire thing.
If I have to describe Wonder with one word, that would be “lighthearted.” And that’s what I really love about this album. Pretty much every song carries this rather breezy optimistic undertone, and after a year of always being stressed and feeling a never-ending sense of doom, the album’s hopeful and upbeat overall message was a very welcome change of tone.
It’s easy to assume that Mandes’s girlfriend, Camila Cabello, was a big influence during the creative process as a large portion of the album seems inspired by that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling that is exclusive to young and unburdened love. From the very start, Wonder takes you on this journey of effortless tenderness that makes you feel like you are gliding through life with no cares in the world, just like you do when you first fall in love with someone. And Shawn Mendes’s velvet voice fits the mood just right.
Besides my personal favorite 305, two clear standouts are Higher and 24 Hours – the former for its infectious beat (that makes you wish the clubs were open, so you can jam out to it somewhere other than your living room), and the latter for its simple piano-driven melody and romantic lyrics (that make you wish you had someone special to sing it to). And of course, I have to mention Teach Me How to Love, one of the more sexually charged tracks on the album. While the song sounds like it should have been recorded by Bruno Mars, Shawn Mendes pulls it off rather nicely and I hope it serves as a preview of coming attractions from him in the future.
What surprised me the most about Wonder, to be quite honest, was the general reception of it. Unlike Shawn Mendes’s previous releases, the critical response to this one has been rather lukewarm, and several of my friends have said that this is their least favorite Shawn Mendes album. I guess my lack of expectations helped me appreciate Wonder more for what it is without comparing it to his other albums.
When it comes to vinyl, Wonder has been released in several different versions (more on those below). Unfortunately, none of them feature all 14 songs from the digital and CD release. The Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber duet Monster is not part of any of the vinyl pressings currently on the market. Instead, it comes as a free digital download.
For my vinyl collection, I decided to go with the Urban Outfitters exclusive turquoise LP variant for two reasons: 1) the way the product was promoted on the UO site made it seem like Monster was part of the pressing, and 2) the turquoise record in the preview shot looked incredibly pretty and unique.
Well, Monster is not part of this vinyl release either. According to some fan theories online, the Justin Bieber duet was added to the album at the last moment before the album was released when all the vinyl records had already been pressed, so it was impossible to include it. However, since the UO variant came out about a month later than the other releases, I thought that might not be the case with it. Unfortunately, it is.
And as far the color goes, let’s just dive into the vinyl review for further details:
Artwork & Packaging
The Urban Outfitters version of the Wonder vinyl, like all other versions, comes in a single sleeve jacket. I was hoping that it would be a gatefold cover, but alas, that’s not the case. The font and the back cover feature the original artwork with no special tweaks and amendments.
While I always appreciate the creative vision of the artist (or their label’s graphic designers), I’m personally not a big fan of the way the tracks are listed on the back. The “handwriting” makes it quite hard to decipher what the order of the songs is. But I guess after a couple of spins, you get used to it.
Now about the record: Unfortunately, the turquoise color that you can see in the product preview image on the Urban Outfitters website is not really the color of the actual record. While the product image makes it seem more mint blue, in actuality, as you can see below, the record is just translucent light blue (or is it cerulean? 😈). Still very pretty and I’m quite happy with it, but it’s not really what was advertised.
The record is held in a paper sleeve that has all the song lyrics printed on either side. I wish they opted for a type of paper that’s a little thicker, because when I took the record out of it I noticed that the vinyl had cut through all three sides of the sleeve.
There’s also an extra one sheet with a glossy picture of a submerged Shawn Mendes on one side and doodles of the word “wonder” on the other. Honestly, I don’t understand the purpose of this sheet as you can’t really make anything out of the photo but I guess it’s all part of that creative vision that I mentioned earlier.
All the other releases come with a collectible poster of non-submerged Shawn Mendes. Now, I’m not saying I would put a poster of Shawn Mendes in my house but at least it’s something that’s actually useful for the bigger fans out there.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, this release comes with a unique code to download a digital version of Monster for free.
Sound Quality
Fortunately, despite all other disappointments about this release, the sound quality delivers. The music is crisp and the volume is high with no discernible hissing.
I did, however, have to give the record a good cleaning because when I first took it out of the sleeve and played it, there was one pretty noticeable skip on side A during Higher. Once I cleaned it, though, it played perfectly fine. As many of you know, the grooves may get clogged during shipping, so it’s always a good idea to remove all dust and any other blemishes when you get a new vinyl record.
Other Available Versions
In addition to Urban Outfitters’ “turquoise” edition, Shawn Mendes’s fourth studio album, Wonder, was released in several other color variants, including standard black, translucent blue, clear, silver, and gold.
The black, silver, blue and clear versions are available to purchase from his official web store, and each edition comes with a different foldout poster.
The gold edition is a Target exclusive, and it can be found both on the Target website and in select Target stores. Keep in mind that the foldout poster that comes with that edition is different from any of the ones available on his website.
Where to Buy
The version in this review can be found here:
For the standard black LP versions, check out these retailers:
The gold LP version can be found here:
The blue, silver and clear versions can be found here:
Or visit your local record store!
What do you think about this release?
Did you snag a copy of Wonder on vinyl? Which version did you go for? Are you happy with it? What about the album, in general? What are your favorite songs? Let me know in the comments below!
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