Justin Bieber sells me things

Jimmy Neutron mentioned

Justin Bieber is back with a new album! Plus he launched a clothing brand… today we’re breaking down my initial thoughts on both…

Justin Bieber and his offerings

Last night he released Swag, his first studio album in four years.

I started the album right at midnight because I was up and slightly champagne drunk after a work event. I turned it on while I was powering through my skincare routine before collapsing into bed.

I got about 1/3 of the way through before I called it quits. I fell asleep thinking “I like it” and not much else.

I don’t know what I was expecting but this is exactly what I was expecting. I feel like Justin Bieber has been in this room for 5 years, and this album sounds like it came from this room:

The album kind of reminds me of Blonde by Frank Ocean- not because they sound alike, but because they have a similar experimental, sprawling, vibe that I think people will probably either love or hate. Not many classic “pop” songs that follow any formula like you might expect, instead it’s like 45 minutes of vibes.

Most of Swag sounds like interludes in between bangers, but the bangers don’t really come.

There’s a song called Yukon where he’s distorted his voice to sound exactly like a Justin Bieber parody, which is confusing. He also name drops Jimmy Neutron- which I’m sure was an intimidation tactic.