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"From the depths of the popstar doldrums, Justin Bieber has risen again. After four years of controversy, a heated financial dispute with his longtime manager, numerous reports of him " crashing out," and very little new music to distract us from this, Bieber finally silenced critics in July with his blissed-out comeback record . It's his best work in a decade, a collection of soulful ballads and rap linkups that has the authentic, homespun charm of a mixtape."
"Teased yesterday with some memes and billboards, Bieber officially announced the new album on X: "swag II midnight tonight." It did not drop at midnight, and many diehard fans (and this writer) stayed up for hours, waiting until it finally popped up on streaming services around 3:30 a.m EST. The sequel's textures are brighter than the original, but its ethos remains the same: This is the music Bieber loves to make."
"This is a proper sequel, not a heavily marketed deluxe. These 23 songs have similar textures (word to Mk.gee and Michael Jackson) as SWAG and sound like they were created during the same intense period of artistic breakthrough for Bieber. I imagine there are hundreds of songs in the vault that could've landed on either of these, but the 44 we got across these two records were considered the best. I'm sure fans will have a field day rearranging them to their liking."
Justin Bieber returned after four years of controversy, a heated financial dispute with his longtime manager, and sparse new music, delivering a July comeback record described as blissed-out and his best work in a decade. He surprised fans with SWAG II after less than 24 hours' notice, teasing via memes and billboards and announcing on X before the release appeared around 3:30 a.m. EST. SWAG II features 23 tracks with brighter textures while preserving the original's ethos, including odes to his wife, left-field collaborations, and stylistic risks. The two records total 44 songs with similar mixtape-like charm and pop sensibilities.
Read at Pitchfork
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