Justin Bieber

Purpose

The fact that 'Purpose' features some of the hottest writers and producers in the game right now means there's enough going on to hold your interest throughout.

Purpose is high-stakes pop; a defining moment in his already affluent career and declaration of adulthood to a sea of non-believers.

By giving us the best album of his career, and subsequently re-ascending to Top 40’s mountaintop, Bieber’s answered his own question: In pop music, it’s never too late to say you’re sorry.

He lays his soul bare in joyless lyrics stripped naked, requiring very little interpretation, filling the crags with buoyant, sun-drenched productions from Skrillex, Blood, and Diplo.

All the bangers in the world can’t save Purpose from its weak-sauce lows; and, for all the confidence shown in the marketing of this being his reinvention, it’s worth noting he’s still only 21 years old.

Bieber is the comeback kid, with "Sorry" as his theme song. He spends Purpose learning lessons, begging for forgiveness and vowing to be a better Bieber.

It’s not quite redemption – only time will tell if he’ll curb the recklessness – but it’s certainly a start at reinvention.

The musical direction owes much to co-producer Skrillex, whose unexpectedly subtle electronic palette complements Bieber’s affectedly breathy voice. The voice soon palls, but the songs are often interesting.

A bumpy, oddly compelling restart, Purpose should hook open-minded pop fans who previously paid him no mind, and it could even win back some of those who wrote Bieber off years ago.

It’s when Bieber’s honesty feels less-than-honest and the tracks feel less-than-groundbreaking that this album falls short of the heights it should by all means be capable of reaching.

The Canadian pop star's fourth record leans heavily on an overbearingly dull redemption narrative following a (let's face it, more interesting) period of erratic behaviour. You couldn't write a more clichéd child-star trajectory, and yet Purpose is his most cohesive and best-sounding album.