G with the beats

Shawn Mendes is gonna miss you when you’re gone

In his comeback single, “When You’re Gone,” Shawn Mendes ushers in a new era of music for his fourth album in juxtaposition to his 2020 album “Wonder,” and its themes of finding yourself and intense love for your significant other. 

The latter is explored in Mendes’ new single, an upbeat pop song backed by a constant light drum beat inducing an infectious foot tap as you sing along to missing an ex who you could never imagine breaking up with. For Mendes, it’s Camila Cabello. 

A light synth is echoed by an occasional triangle, which brightens up the song when Mendes mentions Cabello with the lyrics, “I don’t wanna know what it’s like when you’re gone for good.” 

The lyrics of heartbreak are simple, a Mendes specialty, but they effectively convey the feelings of a post-break-up. Reeling in the past and scrolling through your camera roll, only to be thrown into a mental hell of what was and what could have been. 

In the bridge, as he delves into his emotions lyrically, he pulls back the instruments, stripping the synth to be replaced with a heavier drumbeat that sonically is slower than the rest of the song, showing that the shiny beat is masking an otherwise sad song. 

While a relatively safe pop single, it works for Mendes, taking him back to his 2017 “Illuminate” roots of simplicity, while maintaining more mature production and instrumentals. 

No word on when Mendes will be releasing the fourth album, but this is the second single to follow the heartbroken Mendes era. 

This is Harry’s House, not Harry’s Home

It could have been an April Fools prank, but Harry Styles did not clown around with the release of his debut single “As It Was” off his third album, “Harry’s House,” set to hit streaming services and stores on May 20. 

“As It Was” starts off with static audio of a young kid saying, “Come on Harry, we wanna say goodnight to you,” before jumping into a whimsically high 80s pop synth that loops into the listener into a daze with the beat continuing throughout the song. 

This song feels like summer. Windows down as the warm summer breeze fill your car with your arms jiving to the beat of the song as you drive off with friends to forget your problems for a day at the lake. 

It’s simple, but profound, sounding like a modern twist on the Beach Boys with daddy issues. 

The song is speculated to be about the divorce of Styles’ parents because of the lyrics “Ringin’ the bell and nobody’s coming to help. Your daddy lives by himself, he just wants to know that you’re well,” and about growing up when life isn’t the same anymore. 

Life has not been the same for Styles. People are finding him in a lull of nothingness at home, a homage to the album about Harry’s house throughout the years. 

His vocals are mellow but sharp, hitting each word perfectly, revealing the state of his mind — especially with the music video that depicts a never-ending spiral with one person trying to revert to their old ways. But as the song says, “you know it’s not the same as it was.”