SWAG, by Justin Beiber

It has admittedly been a long time since I have listened to a Justin Beiber album, which I actually thought well of. So it happened when today, with very little announcement, a 20-track album called SWAG was released on the world without any promo or leadoff singles, I was intrigued enough to check it out. Justin Beiber as an artist is in a somewhat interesting place right now. He has announced that he has a pop album coming out later this year or early next year, so that lowered expectations of popular success for this particular album. His reputation has taken a bit of a hit because he was a minor figure in the whole Diddler drama, and the press has hounded him about his relationship with his wife. In addition to this, he has also struggled with his health, and that means recording and releasing two albums so close together cannot have been easy for him. Regardless of whether this album is popular–and it would seem that this is an R&B and hip hop-themed album, is it any good? Let’s find out.

The album begins with “ALL I CAN TAKE,” (what is with the all caps?) which features JB kvetching about suffering all he can take over a spare but sweet production. “DAISIES” features JB dealing with a reluctant partner he remains devoted to over mostly spare production. “YUKON” features JB singing a love song in the highest voice I have heard from him for a long time, over more spare, even boring, production that sounds like the latest Lorde album. “GO BABY” finds JB being reassuring to a partner who needs his comfort and the sentiment is a sweet one even if the production is pretty minimal. “THINGS YOU DO” is a somewhat downbeat-sounding song that nonetheless praises JB’s wife (presumably) for the things she does to make his life better. “BUTTERFLIES” begins with a spoken word intro and then transitions into a song that points out that it is the love that continues when the money is gone and that love is what truly matters, with more downbeat and spare production. “WAY IT IS (f/Gunna)” shows JB calling out that he needs his wife (presumably) by his side to overcome the struggles of life while Gunna expresses his intoxication with his nameless partner. “FIRST PLACE” finds JB singing in a distorted voice over bland production in puzzlement over how things got so confused and messed up in a relationship in the first place. “SOULFUL” features someone named Drewski gassing up JB and telling him that he’s got soul. “WALKING AWAY” features JB expressing his commitment to his wife and his refusal to walk away even if things are difficult. Even if the production is pretty dull here, JB is soulful enough here that it elevates the song to goodness at least. The oddly titled “GLORY VOICE MEMO” finds JB singing about glory slightly off-pitch in a demo-like fashion over more spare but distorted beats. “DEVOTION” (f/Dijon) finds JB singing over a pretty boring beat about his devotion to his wife. “DADZ LOVE” (f/Lil B) has a repetitive triphop beat but it’s at last a bit upbeat as the two singers express their desire to express intergenerational love and encourage it in their listeners in somewhat repetitive fashion. “THERAPY SESSION” finds Drewski attempting to explain JB’s trolling and how he deals with his struggles with perception from those on the outside who (understandably) don’t know what he’s going on about. “SWEET SPOT (f/Sexyy Red)” finds JB in a more seductive mood that reminds me of “Yummy,” but slightly less gross and Sexyy Red doing her normal shtick. “STANDING ON BUSINESS” features Drewski trying to explain JB’s catchphrase about standing on business while dealing with harassment from paparazzi. “405” finds JB dealing with anxiety by seeking his wife beside him as he seeks the freedom of a drive over a tense and anxious but still pretty minimal beat. “SWAG (f/Cash Cobain and Eddie Benjamin) has a dull rap verse about swag, fairly repetitive singing from JB about how no one can top him, and more mediocre and basic beats. “ZUMA HOUSE” finds JB singing about the joys of home, I think, over a fairly minimal and dull beat. “TOO LONG” finds JB in seductive mode again expressing how it’s been too long since he enjoyed lovemaking with (presumably) his wife over another fairly uninspired beat. The album ends with “FORGIVENESS” by Marvin Winans, ends the album on a bit of a Gospel note with somewhat muddled production expressing JB’s having sought and received forgiveness from God for his sins.

This is by no means a terrible album, yet really only four songs stand out of the 21 numbers here (including interludes), and all of them for different if not entirely good reasons. “WALKING AWAY” finds JB in a genuinely soulful mood and the song is a real standout here despite the production. “DADZ LOVE” has some interesting production but the lyrics are not quite good enough to elevate the song as the words match the repetitiveness of the production, though it could find some success on more dance-oriented formats. “SWEET SPOT” is pretty cringeworthy, though not quite as bad as “Yummy.” Finally, “FORGIVENESS” brings up the question of JB’s spiritual state. This is an album that reflects both on JB’s troubled reputation and past as well as the troubles in JB’s marriage in a surprisingly open and honest way. Bieber comes off as being a devoted husband, committed to making it work, though it is surprising that he is so candid about things going on wrong given the violently hostile nature of much press coverage that he receives, some of which is also referenced here in the album. It is a great shame that the honest and open lyrics are not matched by worthwhile production, as nearly every song here sounds like it has royalty free production. If someone actually got paid to produce these things, they need to give Bieber a refund because they did a terrible job. This is a decidedly mediocre and boring album, and most of that is the fault of the instrumental production which makes Justin Bieber’s songs about anxiety and turmoil and devotion into music that seeks to cure insomnia. This ought to come with a “Do not play while driving” warning, no joke. Also, whoever told Justin Bieber that capitalizing every song title was a good idea needs to be fired immediately.