"Appealing as it was to hear Bieber adopt the beguiling sonic-stew aesthetic of his collaborators Dijon (who's back to co-produce six SWAG II tracks) and Mk.gee (who, as last time, lends his services to just one), it is now clear that Bieber's take is lite-r in every way. It's less robust, less intense, less blissfully chaotic. The elements are there-the R&B-inflected singing (though Bieber's comes out more like R&B- affected), guitars so bleary they sound hungover from last night, lite-rock keyboards, little wild squiggle fills-but"
"perhaps by other collaborators (Carter Lang, Dylan "Sir Dylan" Wiggins, and Eddie Benjamin are again behind the boards for the majority of SWAG II). Minor distinctions speak volumes as Bieber's secondhand sound circles back to the gel-slicked textures of its original source material. Try playing "Open Up Your Heart" alongside Breathe's 1988 soft-focus adult contemporary smash " How Can I Fall? "; they flow together so well that Bieber is effectively making music that one could peacefully buy adult diapers to."
SWAG II appends 23 tracks to the original SWAG's 21, creating over two hours of music with little new substance. The record continues an alt-R&B aesthetic shaped by collaborators Dijon and Mk.gee, but Bieber's interpretation feels thinner and less dynamic. Vocals often read as R&B-affected while guitars, lite-rock keyboards, and small ornamental fills generate a gel-slicked, secondhand texture. Production contributions from Carter Lang, Dylan "Sir Dylan" Wiggins, and Eddie Benjamin further flatten the dynamism. Occasional moments work in small doses, yet redundancy, lack of intensity, and underwritten songwriting make the sequel feel unnecessary.
Read at Pitchfork
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]