Justin Bieber’s latest project, SWAG II, arrives less than two months after the release of SWAG, his experimental pivot into the world of alternative R&B. This time, he doubles down with 23 more tracks, featuring collaborators like Dijon and Mk.gee, but unfortunately, the follow-up only highlights the flaws that weighed down the original.

Sequels are often tricky, and music history has its fair share of unnecessary second acts think Tha Carter VI, Jaws: The Revenge, or even Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College. Bieber’s attempt at crafting his own sprawling two-part series ends up falling into the same trap. The bloated runtime stretches past two hours when paired with the first installment, yet the content rarely justifies the scale. Instead of expanding on ideas or sharpening the sound, SWAG II comes off as repetitive, underwritten, and creatively stagnant.

That’s not to say there aren’t glimmers of intrigue. Dijon and Mk.gee’s contributions bring moments of subtle texture, and Bieber occasionally lands on an emotional hook that hints at what a more focused version of this project could achieve. However, these flashes are few and far between, buried under an avalanche of tracks that blur into one another. The freshness that made SWAG at least feel like an interesting detour has evaporated, leaving behind a sequel that feels less like a bold experiment and more like contractual filler.

At its core, SWAG II suffers from its unwillingness to self-edit. Bieber has the resources, talent, and collaborators to craft a tight, compelling alt-R&B statement, but instead he delivers an album that exhausts rather than excites. The result is a project that magnifies its predecessor’s shortcomings while offering little reason for listeners to return.

In short, SWAG II proves that sometimes, less really is more.