
Justin Bieber: Swag review – inane lyrics undermine a gorgeously produced R&B passion project
With his fourth album Purpose, Justin Bieber was adjacent to this shift. Leaning into the ascendant tropical house genre, collaborating with Skrillex and pursuing a sound you sensed a 21-year-old might actually like, it spelled the end of Bieber's career as a cheesy tween idol and repositioned him as a leading figure in the pop zeitgeist. But Purpose still felt like an album designed to spew highly accessible hits. And it did.
A decade on, however – after backsliding into forgettable, generic pop on 2021's Justice – Bieber has finally made what seems to be a genuine 2015-style passion project. Swag, the 31-year-old's surprise-released seventh album, opens extremely promisingly with All I Can Take, a hauntological twist on spotless, energetic 1980s R&B: echoey vocals, fast, faded beats, maudlin synths that seem half-remembered from a dream. Abetted by a songwriting and production team that includes Carter Lang (SZA), Tobias Jesso Jr (Dua Lipa, Adele), Eddie Benjamin, Dylan Wiggins and Daniel Chetrit, the sonic vibe echoes throughout the album.
It comes festooned with layered melisma on Butterflies, gated reverb and laser-style synths on the gorgeous Too Long and hyperactive, washed-out drums on First Place. Elsewhere, Bieber's default sweet and smooth R&B base is counterbalanced by chugging guitar and crashing percussion (the Mk.gee-produced Daisies) and fingers-on-fretboard squeaks of acoustic guitar (the lo-fi Zuma House). Lil B collaboration Dadz Love merges gospelly vocals with a fuzzy breakbeat and blissed-out synths to similarly beautiful effect.
It's all very considered, cleverly nostalgic and subtly satisfying – there's not a craven chart smash in earshot. Lyrically, however, Swag isn't such a classy and thoughtful affair. Dadz Love is an inane celebration of Bieber's nascent fatherhood that essentially just repeats the title into meaninglessness. The other love songs – which are addressed to his wife, Hailey, whose viral lip gloss-holding phone case gets a shout-out on Go Baby – rarely transcend superficial, saccharine cliche. But they are at least preferable to the eye-watering spoken-word segments.
During a handful of conversations with internet personality Druski, Bieber bemoans the reaction to his discomfitingly intimate social media posts, which have worried fans in recent months (if 'people are always asking if I'm OK … it starts to make me feel like I'm the one with issues and everyone else is perfect'). He gets gently ribbed about his altercations with the paparazzi – two examples of which are sampled on this album – and told, sycophantically, that despite his white skin, his musicality is such that he must have a 'Black' soul.
These cringeworthy interludes show a Bieber determined to refute the unflattering caricature of him that prevails in the tabloid sphere. But you would struggle to find much evidence of a three-dimensional human being in his lyrics, which are low on specifics, insight or originality. Despite the album's seductive, almost spookily evocative sound, the lasting impression is one of eerie emptiness. Swag has moments of brilliance, but this is no long-awaited masterpiece.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Taylor Swift fans are convinced singer is engaged as star reveals telling sign in lock screen snap with Travis Kelce
Taylor Swift fans were sent into a frenzy on Thursday evening as they speculated the star might finally be engaged after Travis Kelce took to Instagram to share a rare photo dump of the couple's 'offseason adventures' together. Marking the first time the NFL star has featured the pop sensation on his social media, the pair appeared smitten in the series of pictures. However there was one snap in particular that caught fans eyes after they went wild over Travis' lock screen snap of the two of them. Taylor appeared to flaunt her ring finger in the grainy snap as fans speculated over whether Travis has popped the question. They penned: 'travis's lockscreen is she pointing at her hand like she is… engaged ??????'; 'Not to be that person but in his lock screen is she holding up her hand with a ring on her finger'; 'is it an engagement photo???' Others wrote: 'yes.. yes i did zoom into his lockscreen'; 'yes, I did blow up picture number 3 to see a picture of both of them on his iPhone!!!'; 'THE LOCK SCREEN !?' 'Is Taylor Swift engaged to Travis Kelce? Fans are swooning over Travis' lockscreen' 'everyone pointing out his lock screen is a photo of them but i also think hers is too like literally she deserves the world…' Eagle-eyed fans also spotted that Taylor also had a snap of her and Travis as her screensaver as they notice a glimpse of the black and white jumper he wore during their trip to Lake Como together in May 2024. The pair have been together for two years and a source recently told that the couple are 'all in' and her parents are prepared to give their blessing. Meanwhile last month speculation reached a new high after a friend of the couple gave a clue the couple had secretly tied the knot. The couple were on the guest list to celebrate the marriage of Chicago Bears player Cole Kmet and Emily Jarosz. And Kmet's event planner, Ellie Nottoli, shared behind-the-scenes details from the wedding, including a photo of an invitation letter that was addressed to 'Taylor and Travis Kelce.' They penned: 'travis's lockscreen is she pointing at her hand like she is… engaged ??????' Eagle-eyed fans also spotted that Taylor also had a snap of her and Travis as her screensaver as they notice a glimpse of the black and white jumper he wore during their trip to Lake Como together in May 2024 Marking the first time the NFL star has featured the pop sensation on his social media, the pair appeared smitten in the series of pictures The letter, penned in elegant calligraphy, assigned them to 'Table 13' – a potential nod to Swift's lucky number. The Daily Mail reached out to Swift's representatives for comment at the time. The image ignited a frenzy among fans, fuelling speculation that the pair had already exchanged vows. 'TAYLOR AND TRAVIS KELCE?!????? EXCUSE ME,' one fan wrote. 'They got married ?' another one questioned. 'Would be a welcome surprise for them! If true, hope they always share happiness together ❤️'; 'I KNEW IT!!';'This feels like something we shouldn't be seeing.' However, other fans believed the name choice was simply for the 'aesthetic.' 'This is very common for couples (married and unmarried) for weddings. it's the aesthetic.' 'It's not that weird. it's solely for aesthetic purposes.'; 'Technically it should be Travis and Taylor Kelce'; 'That's usually standard for weddings i believe.'


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Taylor Swift hits back at ex Matty Healy's 'obnoxious' mother Denise Welch for her interview 'attack'... and issues firm warning
Taylor Swift is taking 'the high road' after 'obnoxious' Denise Welch, the mother of her ex-boyfriend , took a swipe at the billionaire pop star during an . The 35-year-old singer became a hot topic of conversation during Welch's appearance on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live on Thursday night, during which she was quizzed about Swift's latest album The Tortured Poets Department.


The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Meg Washington: ‘Why make art at all? What's the point? Sometimes I feel like the violinist on the Titanic'
Once, in a major label meeting, Meg Washington was given a directive: show us your face. 'They tell you when they sign you that you have to put your face on your album cover and your eyes need to be open, because that statistically sells the most records,' she says matter-of-factly. 'You know how posts with sunsets get more likes, or whatever? It's just some Gladwellian reality that if humans can see the eyeballs, they subconsciously connect more.' She only half obeyed. On her platinum-selling, Aria-winning debut I Believe You Liar, Washington hid like a ghost behind a sheet – with holes cut out for eyes, to technically meet that requirement. For 2014's There There, a sketch artist drew thin, pencil renderings of her face; on 2020's Batflowers, her face was mostly covered by a cartoonish drawing of a flower. But for her latest album, Gem, Washington has finally taken the advice she was given all those years ago: the cover is her gazing at the camera; no obscurity, no tricks, just her. It's ironic that she's finally submitted to major label logic, given Gem is her first original album as an independent artist, and the one most divorced from expectations of record sales. 'I had been signed to a major label for 13 years, which is a long time to be signed to a major label. And I found myself having to re-identify myself. Like, what is [music] to you? Is this something that you do because it's gonna have a fiscal impact? No, not at all,' she contemplates with a dry laugh. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning I last spoke to Washington in 2020 for the release of Batflowers, her last album with Universal. It's been a busy few years. Since then, she has founded her own label, Batflowers Records; moved from her home town of Brisbane to the Gold Coast with her husband, film-maker Nick Waterman, and their son; released a cover of The Killers' album Hot Fuss; and continued her voice role on the hit kids' show Bluey (she plays Bluey's teacher Calypso). She even changed her moniker, for a third time: first she went by only her 'un-Googleable' last name, before adding on her first name for SEO purposes, and finally shortening Megan to Meg. But most of the last five years was spent on making her and Waterman's debut film, How To Make Gravy: an adaptation of Paul Kelly's beloved Christmas song that she penned the script for – and this new album, in 'stolen moments' here and there. Today, we're sitting in the lobby of a Sydney hotel, where Washington is visiting for a run of shows. The combination of last night's gig and this morning's dawn photoshoot means she's running on just three hours of sleep, she tells me when we meet. Exhaustion hasn't dulled her natural intensity – this is someone unafraid to ask me point-blank what I liked about her new album and prone to countering my questions with her own. But there's warmth and humour too: she drops serious-but-silly one-liners like 'the dominant religion of capitalism is money – that shit is real,' and hangs around after the recorder is off to talk shoe shopping and parenting. Last time we spoke, she was grappling with what happens to the music when you're happy – no longer in the turmoil of her 20s, which fueled her first two albums, but writing music from the quiet calm of marriage and motherhood. Is that still something she wrestles with? 'That's interesting,' she says, pausing to sip the green juice Waterman dropped off mid-interview, in an attempt to ward off tour sickness. 'This record is unique because now what I'm grappling with is a sense of the future. As a parent and as a person, looking into the future at the moment feels cloudy. I found myself really interrogating the question of, well, why make art at all? Like, what's the point? Sometimes I feel like the violinist on the Titanic.' What is worth making music about right now, Washington decided, was a 'more outward interrogation of nature'. She means 'nature' in a couple of senses. Most obviously, there's the natural world, which Washington sings about with awe on Gem. Directed by Waterman, the film clip to the woozy, tropical lead single Shangri-La – which could soundtrack The White Lotus now it's down a composer – sees Washington dance on a beach, waves crashing behind her, and in a rainforest framed by verdant green. The lyrics reference the sky, treetops, spiderwebs, seashells and flowers growing through the weeds. It's not strictly a climate album, but then again, as Washington says: 'I don't think that anybody can make any art right now and not have that be threaded through what's going on.' But Gem also weaves in her musings on her own nature and being an artist in the modern world. The pop idols we create out of teenagers ('We've got a brand-new Jesus / She's only 17'); her wish to 'live for more than money'; and even the lyric 'everybody's talking about superannuation'. 'I never thought I would put the word 'superannuation' in a song,' she laughs. But Washington found herself repeatedly writing about money because of how conflicted she feels about it. 'As an artist, you're not really motivated by money … but when you turn your passion or your joyful escape into your job, the garden can become a factory.' But while there's lyrics about burning with anger and crying at the news ('don't you?'), Washington says Gem is actually 'a totally hopeful, future-facing, wide open album', intended as an oasis. Instead of giving in to pessimism, Washington decided to write what she wanted to be true – 'like a rapper!' Take, for instance, the line on the single Kidding where she triumphantly declares over a soaring beat that she 'believes in the future'. 'You can either sing, 'I feel really scared about the future, because America just elected Donald Trump'. Or you can go the other way, and say what is not so true right now, but maybe you would like to be,' she explains earnestly. 'What would you prefer to sing?' The album's final track is Fine, a song that first appeared in How To Make Gravy, where it was sung by Brendan Maclean. This version features vocals from Washington and Paul Kelly himself. Collaborating with the legendary musician after adapting his song into a film was 'like a lovely bow on a grape', she says, in one of the unique turns of phrase Washington is prone to. Washington already has another two albums written but not recorded. Because the more music she makes, the more she realises she has to give – even if she's just serenading the sinking ship. 'As I make each record, I'm wading deeper and deeper into the sea – that's what it feels like. And the more I go, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I want to do,' she says. 'I am a singing animal – I just do it. I just honk. And so I came to realise that If I was shipwrecked on a desert island with nobody around, I would sing all day.' Gem by Meg Washington is out 8 August. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Each month we ask our headline act to share the songs that have accompanied them through love, life, lust and death. What was the best year for music, and what five songs prove it? 1997! Shania Twain's You're Still the One; Radiohead's No Surprises; Kylie Minogue's Did It Again; Bic Runga's Sway; and Leonardo's Bride's Even When I'm Sleeping. What music do you clean the house to? Graceland, by Paul Simon. Or Glen Campbell. Housework feels more romantic with a vintage feeling. If your life was a movie, what would the opening credits song be? Part of Your World, from the Little Mermaid. What is your go-to karaoke song? Valerie, by Amy Winehouse/The Zutons. You can mostly sing it by talking, and I like to chill at karaoke. What's a song you can never listen to again? Venus by Bananarama, I heard it so much in the car as a child that now when I hear it I feel instantly carsick, it's pavlovian. What underrated song deserves classic status? Solid Gold by Delta Goodrem. That song is huge. What is a song you loved as a teenager? I've always loved really dense, wordy songs that are almost a puzzle to figure out, like The Real Slim Shady, or One Crowded Hour by Augie March. What is the first song/album you bought? The Australian cast recording of Hot Shoe Shuffle, a tap dancing musical. What is the best song to have sex to? Anything instrumental, please!