Justin Bieber’s Changes begins with three spacious, understated tracks that settle the listener in. You might imagine yourself in a mood-lit lounge surrounded by Bieber’s disembodied voice. The atmospheric effect is reflected in the title of the first track, “All Around Me.” Then the shades are lifted and sunlight hits with “Intentions,” which features Quavo. As I wrote in a previous post, Bieber is smooth, Quavo fits in well, and, I should add, the track is quite effective both as a single and as part of the album. “Yummy” follows—it’s a good track, although it’s hard to get past the hypnotic repetition of “yummy, yum/That yummy, yummy…” (All lyrics via Apple Music)

I’m less enthusiastic about the series of tracks that make up the album’s third quarter. Although similar to the first three tracks in their understatement, they are less effective, despite contributions by artists like Post Malone and Travis Scott. 

However, most extraordinary about Changes is the succession of lean tracks that make up the latter portion of the album, beginning with the title track. Against an acoustic guitar backing, Bieber sings, “Though I’m going through changes/Don’t mean that I’ll change.” My favorite track on the album is the joyful “Confirmation.” With synth orchestration and a simple piano loop, Bieber affirms,

All you ever really want/All you ever really need is at home/We got the rest/Got the rest, got the rest of our lives

“That’s What Love Is” features a fingerpicking acoustic guitar and urgent vocals including the exaltation, “God bless your maker.” “At Least For Now” is a satisfying sendoff—though Changes isn’t quite done. A remix of “Yummy” with Summer Walker, which is better than the original, returns the listener to the lounge where they began and caps the album.