搬运自：微信公众号【评论搬一堆】（在原文基础上添加了英语原文与排版调整） 

翻译：Kristen

校正：Lynn Liu

萌德的第三张唱片逐渐走向成熟

这位弹奏吉他的万人迷迈向了更有野心的主题和音乐

要在流行音乐领域转型有很多种方式：你可以尝试一种新的流派，改变你的形象，或者开始唱关于大麻的歌曲。事业的成熟与转型是一场真正的持久战，虽然萌德只有19岁，但他的第三张同名专辑却成功通过了考验。

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.

在他的前两张专辑中，这位来自多伦多的歌手证明了自己是一个和蔼可亲的人，与那些经常被人遗忘、倾向于流行音乐的白人男明星相比，吉他陪衬下的他更为讨喜。他是一个邻家大男孩，他一个人也像是一个乐队，在这个One Direction过去后的世界里创作了大量关于爱情、心碎和救世主情结的音乐。在他的最新作品中，蒙德达到了一种新境界。他能创作出绝伦的R&B放克音乐，萌德温暖磁性的声音没有被吉他的刮奏声给淹没。

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.

这张专辑以一首温柔单曲“In My Blood”开场，这是一首类似于Kings of Leon风格的摇滚，这些在性感的歌声中过于亲密、温柔的内容，倒让人感到有些不真实，其中最出色的一首歌可属与当代流行音乐最出色的创作人之一——Julia Michaels共同创作的“Nervous”和“Like to Be You”了，一个动听悦耳，一个充满柔情的歉意。在“Like to Be You”中，与John Mayer相比，Julia Michaels更能展现自己细腻的嗓音。

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.”

一路走来，萌德比以往任何时候都更加自信、更加直率地谈论了他的人际关系。他以雄辩性的词句来阐述性爱，歌曲中没有牵强的虚张声势，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，甚至更胜一筹，歌词意境就像当他在惋惜在早餐前悄悄溜走的一夜情人一样。在与Ed Sheeran联合执笔的“Fallin ' All in You”中，他发现当一夜情被正儿八经地搬到了歌中时，似乎格外受欢迎。Ryan Tedder和萌德精心打造的这首“Particular Taste”是当之无愧的热门曲风，这绝对是一曲令人着迷的完美之作，它告诫女孩“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.

另一个亮点是他与Khalid的合作——“Youth”，在这个及其有意义的时期，这首歌听起来像是这一代年轻人的呐喊，因为在萌德粉丝中，这一年龄范围内的孩子遭遇校园枪击事件概率越来越高，这也带动了一场全国性的反枪支暴力运动。在一张早已超出预期又充满性感的专辑中，“Youth”的地位和主题倒让人感觉有些脱节。但是，这首歌本身就蕴含力量，因为这是两位耀眼新星利用其不断增长的平台所做出的努力。

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. 

在短短几年时间里创造了各种奇迹，即使萌德在世人面前迅速成长为一名艺术家，但他仍需不断成熟。就算专辑《Shawn Mendes》的歌词中也有一些男性救世主情结和反面女性角色(“Queen”，具体来说是一种能让人感受颇深的波普乐)，不过在这方面，他也不会像在之前那些男歌手或同龄人般咄咄逼人。善用浪漫是萌德最大的优势，而他的优势在此时最为明显，这个少年不仅相信他所唱的那些内容，他也确实历经过其背后的真情实感。