Just in time for the holidays, I found myself converted\u2026 no, not to Christianity or even Scientology but \u2013 possibly even more shocking \u2013 to a Justin Timberlake fan!\u00a0 (Maybe it\u2019s the eggnog?) <\/p>\n
Okay, so I may have missed the boat on all things teenybopper, including N*Sync. And by the time Timberlake went solo on 2002\u2019s Justified<\/i>, I had already immersed myself in classic rock and wouldn\u2019t emerge from my Queen-induced haze until discovering the joys of indie rock in 2005. But then it happened: I found myself actually enjoying this disc. Maybe it had to do with hearing it on repeat for, oh, about seven hours straight at work. Or maybe it\u2019s because the now notorious \u201cSexyBack\u201d is just insanely infectious. Either way, I\u2019m starting to see just how Timberlake came to dethrone Michael Jackson as the king of pop.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
If Justified <\/i>was the album that managed to shed Timberlake\u2019s boy-band persona, gaining him some much-needed credibility, FutureSex\/LoveSounds<\/i> (ridiculous title aside) is the follow-up that has erased any notion of a sophomore slump. Produced almost entirely by Timbaland, it\u2019s got everything from tongue-in-cheek posturing (\u201cSexyBack,\u201d of course), carnal calls to arms (the album\u2019s title track) all deftly mixed with a few of Timberlake\u2019s usual borderline sappy ballads. <\/p>\n
Only this time, even the most sentimental material is beefed up with a swaggering hip-hop edge. Just check out hyperactive second single \u201cMy Love:\u201d Each line is a gushing proposal in itself (\u201cThis ring here represents my heart \/ but there is just one thing I need from you \/ saying I do\u201d) but the production is slick with stuttering synths and a shimmering beat.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Of course, all of this only paves the way for the album\u2019s standout \u201cWhat Goes Around\u201d and its companion \u201cComes Around.\u201d Safe to say, it\u2019s the epic sequel to Justified\u2019s <\/i>\u201cCry Me A River;\u201d this time around, though, the morose heartbreak has given way to a subtle dose of fuck you. Replete with layers of swirling keyboards and a swelling outro, Timberlake digs \u201cI heard you found out that he\u2019s doing to you what you did to me \/ Ain\u2019t that the way it goes\u2026 girl, you got what you deserved.\u201d <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the beats are just as strong. Even though the lyrics on \u201cSummer Love\u201d are beyond cheesy, its powerhouse synths give way to Timberlake\u2019s charismatic vocals. Even the album\u2019s major misstep \u201cLosing My Way\u201d is so well-intentioned, it\u2019s hard to hate. Hoping to deter crack addicts, the track busts out a gospel choir among its numerous laughable lines (\u201cHi, my name is Bob and I work at my job\u201d and \u201cBut now I got a problem with that little white rock \/ see, I can\u2019t put down the pipe\u201d among others). But somehow, owing to Timberlake\u2019s pleading charm, it manages to evade absolute disastrousness. <\/p>\n
Who knew such disposable pop gems as \u201cBye Bye Bye\u201d and \u201cTearin\u2019 Up My Heart\u201d could give way to a worldwide superstar actually deserving of his acclaim? A collaboration for the ages, Timberlake and Timbaland have spun pop on its head; though it\u2019s probably not saying much, this release\u2019s lowest moments soar light years above recent chart fodder. So, I\u2019ll supply the music if you guys bring the eggnog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":28637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7888],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-40117","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-justin-timberlake","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40117"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}