Justin Bieber’s ‘Swag’: Real Ambition, No Editing

“Swag” is Justin Bieber’s 21-track attempt to sound loose again. The album leans on hazy R&B textures, half-finished sketches, and a stated willingness to show cracks instead of polish. It is less a pop statement than a mood board, and that choice defines everything good and bad about it.

Opening Run: All I Can Take to Butterflies

The album’s front half is its strongest stretch. “All I Can Take” opens with real weight, and “Daisies” follows as the clear high point, a track built on a simple, aching hook. “Yukon” keeps that momentum with warm, unhurried production. “Go Baby” and “Things You Do” are slighter but steady, while “Butterflies” closes the run on a soft, unfinished note.

Middle Stretch: Way It Is Through Glory Voice Memo

“Way It Is” and “First Place” pass without much trouble. “Soulful” barely exists as a fragment rather than a song. “Walking Away” stretches out but doesn’t earn its length, and “Glory Voice Memo” sounds exactly like its title suggests — a piece left as it was recorded.

“Devotion” is the one clear standout in this section, a moment of true restraint and real beauty.

Back Half: Dadz Love to Forgiveness

The back half is where the album loses its shape. “Dadz Love,” “Therapy Session,” and “Standing on Business” all feel like short breaks with nowhere to go. “Sweet Spot” and “Swag” itself pass by without leaving much impression. “405” is the exception, a strong moment that reminds you what the record could have been if trimmed. “Zuma House,” “Too Long,” and closer “Forgiveness” drift out rather than land.

“He remains relentless in his pursuit of artistic greatness. He doesn’t quite reach it on ‘Swag,’ but he does stretch his creative boundaries.”

That quote comes from a Metacritic critic review. Another says the record is “Shaggy, disarming, often quite beautiful.”

The Published Score

Metacritic gives “Swag” a score in the low range, and critics were divided but leaned mixed-to-positive. They praised Bieber’s creative risk-taking, hazy R&B production, and honesty while criticizing the album’s bloated length, underdeveloped lyrics, and inconsistent second half.

Bieber is reaching for something looser and more human here, and songs like “Daisies,” “405,” “All I Can Take,” “Yukon,” and “Devotion” prove he can still land a truly strong track. But 21 songs is too many, and too much of the track list reads as filler between the strong points. The ambition is real.

The editing isn’t.

2025 albums · album review · Justin Bieber · R&B · Swag album