Justin Bieber Changes [RBMG/Def Jam]

Owing to numerous collaborations and a marriage, Justin Bieber has never gone away, yet Changes ends a dormant spell for the reformed pop veteran. Consider it a conscious retreat from pop’s epicentre: out with the dance pop that punctuated 2015’s Purpose, replaced by a limp lead single and a clump of homogenous slow jams that call the album’s title into question. Changes may be an inevitable outcome of Bieber’s pre-existing R&B inclinations and a new-found devotion to monogamous married life, but this forgettable series of doe-eyed tributes to his spouse understates and underwhelms.

KB