4/10
Favorite Track: "All Around Me" Least Favorite: "Yummy"
Justin Beiber’s name will forever live in infamy and appraisal. Unfortunately, only one of those words covers the actual music of his career. 5 Years after his last release, Justin’s career actually looked like it was changing. ‘Purpose’ was well-reviewed, and saw multiple chart-toppers and catchy songs that pushed Justin back into the spotlight. It was exactly what his career needed, so his follow up 5 years later obviously had some weight attached. His presence was nowhere near silenced during his ‘hiatus’, his name was consistently plastered on features and over the internet, hitting extremely high points each time. Those same moments aren’t found here. ‘Changes’ is just so incredibly boring. We start off well with ‘All Around Me’ as it clearly lays down the R&B vibe the album carries. It also reveals how heavy the theme of love is due to his recent marriage. But as we transition to the next few songs, the issues with the album shine so clearly. All the songs feel so bland and meaningless accompanied by iffy lyrics. “You’re my rock, my Colorado”, on ‘Intentions” exemplifies this, it’s just him showering his lover with constant praise. He never truly goes in on it, songs like ‘Available’ don’t feel like a real relationship, they feel artificial. Other songs that try to show intimacy like ‘Forever’ are slogged by the clear fakeness of the album. While the feelings he has are most likely real, he doesn’t properly access or display them on the album. Songs don’t transition at all, the album finishes and it feels like we never moved past the start. The music itself doesn’t help, every song sounds like one or two decent ideas stretched out to a breaking point. There’s a mismatch of acoustic ballads and bad trap beats that just don’t work with each other. It’s not outlandishly bad, it’s just wildly plain, and that’s the worst kind of album he could’ve made. Obviously it hit #1, anything he released would’ve, but it fell off way quicker than the rest of his albums. With no major high points or tonal shifts, ‘Changes’ fails to really say anything under the weak wordplay and writing, and that leaves behind a dull and pointless album.
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