Justin Bieber’s new album is an alarming shouting

«This is it, I Can’t Change, Lord Knows I Try”, «This is the case, I can’t change, but God knows that I try», Sing Justin Bieber in” All I Can Take “, the song that opens its new album”Swag”, Surprisingly released tonight. Do not be fooled by the cheeky sounds of the piece, with those soft synths and that irresistible rhythm. The verse is of a disarming depth and perhaps it is no coincidence that the former pop child of pop has chosen to open the album with this song. “Swag” comes after a turbulent period to say the least of Justin Bieber’s life and career, between personal and artistic crises, gossip and psychodramas. It was the same Canadian singer -songwriter a few weeks ago to tell the unease That he was living, after finding himself – without wanting to want to – involved in the Puff Daddy scandal because of those old videos that still portrayed him teenager together with the American rapper, producer and entrepreneur who ended up in the center of a media storm in the USA on the accusation of having managed a large -scale criminal organization aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification” (unless he was judged as not guilty for the two indictment of sexual trafficking and for that of criminal association), after the items on a Psychological collapse and on the marriage crisis with Hailey Baldwin and after a video had become viral on the net in which she lashed out against paparazzi. «It is a life that I try to work on myself and solve my problems, as people tell me. The effect, however, is that I become even more tired and angry. The more I try to grow, the more I focus only on myself. Only Jesus still makes me want to devote myself to other people. Because honestly I am exhausted from thinking about myself lately. You don’t?“, Bieber had written. Perhaps he understood that the only way to get out of the impasse in which he had stumbled was to return to make music speak. And so this “Swag” finally arrived, the first studio album of the “Baby” voice in four years, as many as they have gone from the previous “Justice”.

A mirror of the discomfort

“Swag” sounds like The transposition into music of the last period of Justin Bieber’s lifethe boy who grew up too quickly, who in a handful of years has completed the cycle of ascent, fall and redemption that the stars are accomplished in a whole career: the exploit with “baby”, a post-adolescence spent in the shade of the dark side of success, the attempt to rebirth with “Purpose”, new falls, new attempts to redeem himself. It’s an album messy And chaoticas he has been disordered and chaotic his life in recent years and consequently also his career. It looks more like a mixtape than to a real album: The traces, 21 in all, equal to 54 minutes and 20 seconds of music, follow one another without a solution of continuity. At the level of sounds it is a cauldron that keeps inside, or at least tries, of everything: From Pop to R & B, from the most raw to the most acidic trap, passing through the Indie, the Lo-Fi, the Soul and also the Gospel.

The texts are of disarming despair

Presented like this it looks like a perfect album for chillarse, to listen to in a moment of relaxation. It is not: “Swag” sounds like a cry of help. That of a pop star who, overwhelmed by success, ten years ago in “Puropose” sang how his life was “a film that everyone is watching”, and that since then has never really been able to resume control of that same life. Not only that verse of “All I Can Take”, “This is it, I Can’t Change, Lord Knows I Try”, of a disarming despair. The lyrics of the songs of “Swag” are full of references to the discomfort of Bieber. In “Therapy Session“Justin talks about his difficulty in living constantly under the spotlight. In “Standing on Business“It is tried to minimize on that video last month, when he turned to the paparazzi who were ready to photograph him out of a Los Angeles room screaming things like:” Money money money “(” money, money, money “),” Get out from here “(” Go away from here “), and” You Don’t Care about People, Human Beings: Only Money “(” of people, human beings, but only money “). contradictionshis restlessness. In “Walking Away“Confirms the crisis crossed in recent months with his wife Hailey:« and girl, we beter stop before we say some shit / we been testing our patience / i Think we beter off If we just take a break “,” girl, it is better to stop before saying some bullshit / we put our patience to the test / I think it would be better if we took a break. ” In the same song he thinks about it: «Baby, the Ain’t Walking Away / You Were My Diamond / Gave You a Ring / I Made You a Promise / I Told You I’d Change / It’s Just Human Nature”, “Baby, I don’t leave / you were my diamond / I gave you a ring / I made you a promise / I told you: “I would have changed” / it’s just human nature».

The best pieces

The feeling is that the disc represents a way, by Bieber, to try to give a sign of life. In the USA they are certain: The actual album will come between the end of this year and the beginning of the next. And yet here and there sometimes in “Swag” the Canadian pop star – who worked, among others, with Mk.geereal name Michael Gordon, 27 year old guitarist, producer and singer that the authoritative and prestigious New York Times last year nicknamed “An UNLIKELY Guitar God”, “An unlikely god of guitar” – He manages to bring some good piece out of the chaos. “Go baby“For example, he resumes the mix between funk, R&B and Psychedelia of Steve Lacy, heir in some way of the sound of Prince (to whom he seems to be inspired by the interpretation).”First Place“Between the 90s vibes and an indie rock attitude is a bizarre, but intriguing experiment.”Devotion”It’s a soul, jazzate piece: Bieber engraved it with Dijonthe genius of the new US black music already alongside Kanye West.

The search for a redemption

In “Soulful“, A dialogue with Druski, the American comedian and actor tells him:”Your skin is white, but your soul is black». It does not only seem a reference to the homages to the black music on the album: it sounds like a warning. Justin’s soul seems to be really black, stained, dirty. The hope is that Bieber is still in time to make peace with himself (and his demons). The disc ends with a gospel song entitled “Forgiveness“,” Forgiveness “. However, it is not Justin, but the shepherd Marvin Winans: it is a song of thanks to Christ, “Coming from the sky on earth to show the way” and take charge of the “sinful debts”. A very powerful ending.