The follow-up to ‘SWAG’ presents a love-soaked journey with sporadic moments of serene joy and inspiration.
Just two months after unveiling what might be his most refined work to date, Justin Bieber made a return last week with a heavily layered sequel. The soft pink-toned ‘SWAG II’ is pleasant and unobtrusive, maintaining the faded RnB essence of its predecessor, largely crafted by the same talented group of producers who worked on the original: !DubMagic!, Hurricane Chris, Benjamin, Dijon, Carter Lang, Mike Will Made It, Buddy Ross, Daniel Chetrit, Mk.gee, and Dylan Wiggins.
Though ‘SWAG II’ captures the innocent, late-summer vibe of ‘SWAG’—characterized by airy love songs ideal for a beach cruise—this sequel is notably clearer. The album revolves significantly around themes of fidelity. For instance, ‘I THINK YOU’RE SPECIAL’, embellished with subtle nuances, showcases the gentle, flowing harmonies between Bieber and Tems, enhancing the tenderness of a track that is just shy of becoming excessively sentimental.
In other parts, the programmed folk track ‘MOVING FAST’, with its gradual accumulation of percussion and slightly detuned guitar riffs, evocatively illustrates how Bieber's wife, Hailey, has grounded his hectic lifestyle. The unusual breakbeat track ‘SAFE SPACE’, a rare highlight towards the album’s conclusion, presents Bieber as her refuge, reversing the typical narrative.
However, these instances of charming inspiration and clarity are infrequent. Within the muddle of an album designed to portray Bieber as vibrant and multifaceted, the result is an artist who appears stretched thin; often generic, detached, and frequently rambling throughout an unnecessarily lengthy runtime. Bieber's reflections on companionship, the illusion of fame, and his enduring faith (exemplified by the spoken-word conclusion, ‘STORY OF GOD’, which is a… choice) become obscured in a fog that leaves the listener lost.
When viewed in its entirety, the 23-track ‘SWAG II’ seems to be a strategy to dominate the streaming charts for the rest of the year and beyond. What could have been a focused passion project, carefully refined into a more cohesive entity, now feels like a tactic for ubiquitous presence. Following two extensive companion albums, with more new music anticipated soon, one might wonder: do we truly understand who Justin Bieber is? And do we have the bandwidth to engage?
6/10
Words: Shahzaib Hussain
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Just two months after releasing what might be his most impressive work yet, Justin Bieber made a return last week with a packed follow-up. The