Shawn Mendes making a bad album? it isn't in his blood

Yesterday Shawn Mendes released his long-awaited third studio album. The self-titled album's lead singles, In My Blood and Lost In Japan showed off a more maturer sound from Mendes and teased what we could expect to hear on the album.
I liked Shawn's previous two albums, but didn't really listen to them much, and I was expecting to have the same reaction for this album too. However, after my first listen, I'm hooked!
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The album starts with In My Blood, a really good single and a really strong song to open the whole album with. The next song is Nervous, which I love because of the higher key Shawn sings in. I wouldn't typically imagine Shawn to sing in this key, but it actually makes the song. Where Were You in the Morning is again something that I wouldn't picture Shawn releasing because it's a very different sound from his usual music, but once again I love it.

Once I got almost halfway through the album and was listening to Fallin' All in You, I came to the conclusion that this is Shawn's best album to date. The progression he's made as an artist is incredible, both lyrically and in the style of his songs. Shawn has always been a talented artist, and the fact that he is allowing himself to grow as an artist while continuing to make great music that his fans love, is really impressive.
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As the album continued I found it nice to hear that there is a variety of songs, not just 14 tracks that all sound the same. The darker track, Why, is a nice contrast to the rest of the album and I would love to see it being released as a single (I’d also love to see Nervous released as a single too!).
Staying with the theme of contrasts, I also found Queen to also be a great listen because of the upbeat style of the song in combination with the darker lyrics. I really like songs that on the surface seem to be happy and upbeat, but when you actually listen to the lyrics, it actually has a dark side.
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One of my favourite songs on the album is definitely Youth. I adore Khalid's voice and I think both Khalid and Shawn's voices work together perfectly. The emotional meaning of the lyrics makes this powerful song stand out amongst the rest on the album.

​Shawn's maturity and growth throughout this album is truly stunning and makes for a really good record.
​Shawn Mendes making a bad album? It isn't in his blood.