Justin Bieber has surprised fans with the release of “Swag,” his first album in four years. However, initial reviews suggest the comeback has not resonated strongly with critics.
In a three-star assessment, The Guardian noted “moments of brilliance,” but ultimately deemed the album “no long-awaited masterpiece.”
The Telegraph, awarding two stars, echoed this sentiment, stating it’s “not the return of a pop titan” and describing the work as “an uncomfortable and unfiltered cry for help.”
The publication highlighted spoken-word interludes, including the “self-pitying, super-short Therapy Session,” in which Bieber addresses the impact of press scrutiny on his mental health. Another interlude, “Standing On Business,” incorporates a viral clip of the singer confronting a photographer.
The video, captured on Father’s Day, shows an exasperated Bieber stating, “I’m a dad. I’m a husband. You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. I’m standing on business.”
This clip gained widespread traction online, inspiring remixes and now serving as part of the new album’s promotion, including its inclusion in the tracklist.
The phrase “standing on business” has since entered popular slang, signifying self-advocacy and responsible pursuit of one’s goals.
Clocking in at just under an hour, the album features collaborations with rappers such as Sexxy Red, Cash Cobain, and Gunna.
The title appears to reference Bieber’s 2012 hit, “Boyfriend,” with its memorable line, “swag, swag, swag, on you.”
Promotional images released by Bieber feature his wife, Hailey Bieber, and their child, sometimes held aloft.
Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian wrote that the album “opens extremely promisingly with All I Can Take, a hauntological twist on spotless, energetic 1980s R&B.”
Overall, she notes it’s “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.”
Adam White of The Independent, awarding two stars, suggests the album is “just further confirmation of the artistic lethargy that has plagued his most recent work, and an unfortunate insight into a man who seems awkwardly caught between sex, God, and self-pity.”
Billboard’s Andrew Unterberger describes the album as “Bieber as we’ve never really heard him before – stripped of most of his usual big pop trappings, with a much more organic-sounding, alt-R&B-focused sound.”
However, he cautions that fans expecting an album akin to his 2015 hit “Sorry” may be disappointed.
Clash magazine’s Robin Murray awarded the album 7/10, noting its 21 tracks include lyrics “that move from an emotive depiction of fatherhood through to in-jokes.”
“Stylistically, it broadly sits on 90s-adjacent synth pop – sometimes fixed in its approach, sometimes vaporised. It’s always colourful, and – for all its breadth – it’s always entertaining.”
Murray adds, “One of the core strengths of SWAG is also its weakness: there’s a lot of it. His first album in four years, this feels like an outpouring of ideas, a wiping clean of the slate.”
The album release follows a period of fan concern regarding Bieber’s well-being. In recent months, the singer has publicly addressed the intrusiveness of paparazzi in his personal life.
Bieber’s marriage has also faced scrutiny, notably after a social media post in which he recounted an argument with his wife following her Vogue cover feature.
The lyrics of “Daisies,” the second track on “Swag,” seem to allude to the couple’s relationship with lines like “falling petals do you love me or not” and “you said forever babe, did you mean it or not?”
Other song titles on the album, such as “Devotion,” “Soulful,” and “Forgiveness,” suggest a continuation of Bieber’s exploration of religious themes, consistent with his Christian faith.
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