搬運(yùn)自：微信公眾號【評論搬一堆】（在原文基礎(chǔ)上添加了英語原文與排版調(diào)整）?

翻譯：Kristen

校正：Lynn Liu

萌德的第三張唱片逐漸走向成熟

這位彈奏吉他的萬人迷邁向了更有野心的主題和音樂

要在流行音樂領(lǐng)域轉(zhuǎn)型有很多種方式：你可以嘗試一種新的流派，改變你的形象，或者開始唱關(guān)于大麻的歌曲。事業(yè)的成熟與轉(zhuǎn)型是一場真正的持久戰(zhàn)，雖然萌德只有19歲，但他的第三張同名專輯卻成功通過了考驗(yàn)。

Over his past two albums, the Toronto native proved himself an affably charming, guitar-slinging foil to the deluge of often-forgettable, pop’n’B-leaning white male stars. He was a family-friendly one-man boy band, churning out hits about love, heartbreak and savior complexes in a post-One Direction world. On his latest, Mendes crosses a bridge to the other side; it’s groovy R&B funk that doesn’t lose the charm of the way his warm vocals sound over the scratchy strum of his guitar.

在他的前兩張專輯中，這位來自多倫多的歌手證明了自己是一個(gè)和藹可親的人，與那些經(jīng)常被人遺忘、傾向于流行音樂的白人男明星相比，吉他陪襯下的他更為討喜。他是一個(gè)鄰家大男孩，他一個(gè)人也像是一個(gè)樂隊(duì)，在這個(gè)One Direction過去后的世界里創(chuàng)作了大量關(guān)于愛情、心碎和救世主情結(jié)的音樂。在他的最新作品中，蒙德達(dá)到了一種新境界。他能創(chuàng)作出絕倫的R&B放克音樂，萌德溫暖磁性的聲音沒有被吉他的刮奏聲給淹沒。

The album opens with one of its weakest tracks, “In My Blood,” a Kings of Leon-style rocker that feels too big and hollow in the context of the more intimate and silky slices of sensual pop that follow. The best of those get assistance from contemporary pop’s greatest songwriting weapon, Julia Michaels, who co-wrote the exceptionally catchy “Nervous” as well as the lovely, apologetic duet “Like to Be You,” where she offers up her delicate vocals above guest guitarist John Mayer.

這張專輯以一首溫柔單曲“In My Blood”開場，這是一首類似于Kings of Leon風(fēng)格的搖滾，這些在性感的歌聲中過于親密、溫柔的內(nèi)容，倒讓人感到有些不真實(shí)，其中最出色的一首歌可屬與當(dāng)代流行音樂最出色的創(chuàng)作人之一——Julia Michaels共同創(chuàng)作的“Nervous”和“Like to Be You”了，一個(gè)動(dòng)聽悅耳，一個(gè)充滿柔情的歉意。在“Like to Be You”中，與John Mayer相比，Julia Michaels更能展現(xiàn)自己細(xì)膩的嗓音。

Along the way, Mendes sings about relationships more confidently and straightforwardly than ever before. He tackles sex with eloquence — there’s no forced bravado or cheeky, immature metaphors here. On the sly “Where Were You in the Morning,” he does an early-Aughts Mayer impression even better than Mayer himself as he mourns a one-night stand who slipped away before breakfast. On “Fallin’ All in You,” co-penned by Ed Sheeran, the singer sees the more welcoming side of the same equation as a one-night stand turns into something more serious. And Ryan Tedder and Mendes crafted the surefire hit “Particular Taste,” a swooning, funky piece of pop perfection that warns of a girl who is “so specific when she’s at my place” and “so obsessed with the chase.”

一路走來，萌德比以往任何時(shí)候都更加自信、更加直率地談?wù)摿怂娜穗H關(guān)系。他以雄辯性的詞句來闡述性愛，歌曲中沒有牽強(qiáng)的虛張聲勢，或下流、不成熟的比喻。在“Where Were You in the Morning”中，他模仿了早期的John Mayer，甚至更勝一籌，歌詞意境就像當(dāng)他在惋惜在早餐前悄悄溜走的一夜情人一樣。在與Ed Sheeran聯(lián)合執(zhí)筆的“Fallin ' All in You”中，他發(fā)現(xiàn)當(dāng)一夜情被正兒八經(jīng)地搬到了歌中時(shí)，似乎格外受歡迎。Ryan Tedder和萌德精心打造的這首“Particular Taste”是當(dāng)之無愧的熱門曲風(fēng)，這絕對是一曲令人著迷的完美之作，它告誡女孩“so specific when she’s at my place”，“so obsessed with the chase”。

Another highlight is the Khalid duet “Youth,” a generational rallying cry that seems especially meaningful at a time when kids in the age range of Mendes’ fanbase are experiencing school shootings at an alarming rate and leading a national movement against gun violence. On an album of already out-of-character sexy-pop songs, the placement of “Youth,” and its subject matter, feels disjointed. But the track itself is strong on its own and a valiant effort from two bright stars taking advantage of their ever-growing platforms.

另一個(gè)亮點(diǎn)是他與Khalid的合作——“Youth”，在這個(gè)及其有意義的時(shí)期，這首歌聽起來像是這一代年輕人的吶喊，因?yàn)樵诿鹊路劢z中，這一年齡范圍內(nèi)的孩子遭遇校園槍擊事件概率越來越高，這也帶動(dòng)了一場全國性的反槍支暴力運(yùn)動(dòng)。在一張?jiān)缫殉鲱A(yù)期又充滿性感的專輯中，“Youth”的地位和主題倒讓人感覺有些脫節(jié)。但是，這首歌本身就蘊(yùn)含力量，因?yàn)檫@是兩位耀眼新星利用其不斷增長的平臺所做出的努力。

A few years can do wonders, and while Mendes is rapidly growing as an artist in front of the world’s eyes, he still has maturing to do. The lyrics on?Shawn Mendes?have their share of male savior complexes and villainous women (“Queen,” specifically, is an eye-roll-inducing bop), though he’s not as aggressive in this regard as the male pop stars who have come before him or many of his contemporaries. Mendes’ strength is in romance, and more than ever before, this teenager seems like he not only believes the words he is singing, but he’s actually lived through the emotions behind them.?

在短短幾年時(shí)間里創(chuàng)造了各種奇跡，即使萌德在世人面前迅速成長為一名藝術(shù)家，但他仍需不斷成熟。就算專輯《Shawn Mendes》的歌詞中也有一些男性救世主情結(jié)和反面女性角色(“Queen”，具體來說是一種能讓人感受頗深的波普樂)，不過在這方面，他也不會(huì)像在之前那些男歌手或同齡人般咄咄逼人。善用浪漫是萌德最大的優(yōu)勢，而他的優(yōu)勢在此時(shí)最為明顯，這個(gè)少年不僅相信他所唱的那些內(nèi)容，他也確實(shí)歷經(jīng)過其背后的真情實(shí)感。