Review: In cathartic new song, Shawn Mendes asks ‘Why Why Why’

There are also new confessions from Latto, Kelsea Ballerini, Adrianne Lenker and Leon Bridges.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 15, 2024 at 11:00AM
Shawn Mendes has a new single asking "Why Why Why." (Jordan Strauss, Invision/Associated Press file/The Associated Press)

POP/ROCK

Shawn Mendes, “Why Why Why”

“I stepped off the stage with nothing left,” Mendes sings, referencing his headline-generating 2022 decision to cancel a scheduled world tour and focus on his mental health. The stomping, acoustic-guitar driven “Why Why Why,” from his forthcoming album “Shawn,” represents a new level of candor and pathos from the 26-year-old pop star, who has returned to the spotlight but admits he still doesn’t have all the answers: “I don’t know why, why, why, why,” he croons as the instrumentation builds around him, offering fleeting catharsis in the form of a folksy, sing-along chorus.

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

Leon Bridges, “Peaceful Place”

The Texas singer-songwriter sets aside past troubles to enjoy unexpected contentment in “Peaceful Place.” His recent collaborations with Khruangbin have moved him away from soul revivalism toward hybrid, open-ended grooves. “Peaceful Place” hints at funk and Nigerian Afrobeat, with a steady-ticking beat and a hopping bass line as he reassures everyone, “I found something no one can take away.”

JON PARELES, New York Times

Kelsea Ballerini, “Sorry Mom”

Ballerini has a long list of apologies in “Sorry Mom,” from missing a birthday to dropping out of college to premarital sex. “It took a little tough love to become the woman that you’re proud of,” she admits. The reconciliation is set to easy-strummed soft rock, with no apology for setting three-chord country music aside.

JON PARELES, New York Times

Adrianne Lenker, “Once a Bunch”

“Once a Bunch,” a bonus track from Lenker’s solo album “Bright Future,” is a homey waltz that could easily be an homage to John Prine. Acoustic guitars and fiddle accompany Lenker’s paradoxes and wordplay as she sings about a relationship that starts out shaky — “I was leaving before I’d arrived” — but turns out OK. “You see all the good stuff I seem to have forgot,” she realizes. She also has an entire verse of breakfast puns.

JON PARELES, New York Times

R&B/HIP-HOP

Latto, “H&M”

“H&M” stands, cleverly, for “hurt and miserable” on this zesty kiss-off from the Atlanta rapper’s new album “Sugar Honey Iced Tea.” “Y’all be out here trauma bonding, misery love company,” she spits, while a glinting, sing-songy track winks and taunts those unwise enough to doubt her.

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

New releases

Post Malone, “F-1 Trillion”

Ray LaMontagne, “Long Way Home”

Morgan Wade, “Obsessed”

Foster the People, “Paradise State of Mind”

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