He shouldn’t need an introduction, but of course, he’ll get one: the famed singer-songwriter, actor, child star, former *NSYNC member, and potential pop icon Justin Timberlake is back with his fifth full-length record. After his success with *NSYNC, he became a gigantic solo artist with his first two records “Justified” and “FutureSex/LoveSounds” and, after a 7-year musical hiatus as a result of his increased amount of acting projects, he returned in 2013 with “The 20/20 Experience,” a two-part album that fully got him back into the music scene. He then saw huge success in 2016 with his voice role in the film “Trolls” and the track “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Now obviously, I know who Justin Timberlake is, he’s been in the entertainment industry since before I was born, and I’ve been seeing and hearing him ever since I was a child. I’ve really enjoyed a number of his older tracks, with “Rock Your Body” and “Summer Love” being two personal favorites, though I also enjoyed “My Love” and “SexyBack” when I was a kid, and while I was kind of indifferent towards most of “The 20/20 Experience,” I did enjoy tracks like “Suit & Tie” and “Love Never Felt So Good” and while “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” cooled on me a bit, I can’t deny there was a point where I really did love that track.
However, despite my enjoyment of several Justin Timberlake tracks, I wasn’t really all that excited going into this record because none of the singles really grabbed me. Sure, “Say Something” was not bad, but “Filthy” and “Supplies” went from bad to worse and hearing that this thing was gonna be 66 minutes long had me fearing for the worst. But, I’m willing to at least give this thing a shot, so let’s go song-by-song to see if Justin can make up for the weak singles:
Filthy: This track was extremely underwhelming to me as soon as it came out. I applaud Justin for trying to do something slightly different here, but the problem is that the song just sounds like noise to me. Justin’s vocal charm is drowned out by the overly-loud and obnoxious instrumentals on this thing which, combined with the incredibly repetitive lyrics, make the song really bad. And honestly, hearing some of the other tracks on this record, this song just feels so at odds with everything else on here.
Midnight Summer Jam: Justin’s vocals at several parts are admittedly charming, but once the hook kicks in, he loses that charm when he reaches for the higher notes in his falsetto. And while the song is admittedly pretty funky, I can’t help but feel like Justin is trying to do a Bruno Mars impression on several points in the song. The repetitive “I GLOW, I GLOW, I GLOW, I GLOW” also gets annoying after a while, and lyrically, much like “Filthy,” it gets very repetitive. Not a terrible track and there could be some decent commercial appeal to the track, but it’s just nothing I’ll want to come back to all that much after this review.
Sauce: I’m a little shocked that, for all the rumors about this album going country, Justin is sticking firmly in the electro-pop sound with these first few tracks. And all in all, this song just sounds really cheesy, from Justin’s falsetto vocals that don’t really retain his usual charm, the really goofy lyrics on the hook, and the once-again purging feeling that he’s trying to impersonate Bruno Mars. Come on, Justin, you’re capable of more than this.
Man of the Woods: This one moves away from the electro-pop sound for something more stripped-back and acoustic, but lyrically, this track makes me feel like I need a shower, and considering this is the guy that created “Summer Love” and “Rock Your Body,” that’s when you know it’s an issue. Sure, his vocals are still pretty nice and charming (especially since he’s not trying to jump too high into his falsetto), and the groove on this is cool and all, but when I feel kind of gross after listening to it, that’s a problem. It’s definitely not a terrible track, but it’s not great, either.
Higher, Higher: Once again, Justin jumps into his falsetto for something that is pretty lackluster. He’s trying to create some kind of sensual vibe with this track, but I feel like it just doesn’t work. It literally is just one of those tracks that just goes in one ear and out the other for me. There’s nothing really unique or interesting about the track, it’s just very average in every area. Nothing terrible, just wholly average (and once again, the repetitive lyrics don’t help matters much).
Wave: Another more stripped-back song that’s much more acoustic than the others, the song once again just feels very repetitive and just like a bunch of songs we’ve heard plenty of times before. Justin’s vocals have some charm to them every once in a while, but I was kind of waiting for Justin to either say something interesting on the track or make his repetitive use of “waves” and “now the other way” a little more charming. Never happened, and thus, we have yet another “whatever” track here.
Supplies: The second single released from this record was honestly even worse than the last. While Justin’s vocals are slightly more charming on this one, the hook is beyond annoying (I GOT SUPPLIE-IE-IES), the 808-inspired drum beat is as bland as they come (and it’s way too overpowering here) and Pharrell’s random “burrs” just kind of come off as really silly here. It tries to be a fun, upbeat, party song, but it just comes off as annoying and ear-bleeding.
Morning Light (ft. Alicia Keys): Justin’s damn lucky he enlisted Alicia Keys on this track because that actually gave me something to look forward to. Don’t get me wrong, the stripped-back feel of the track is very beachy and nice-sounding, and Justin’s vocals are solid enough here, but Alicia Keys’ has some very pretty vocals that really make the track work even more for me. Definitely one of the better tracks on this thing, and probably the first track I legitimately enjoy thus far.
Say Something (ft. Chris Stapleton): On this track, it feels like Justin is trying to infuse country music with a few electronic bits, and honestly, while the lyrics can, again, get a bit repetitive after a while (I was kind of waiting for Justin and featured artist Chris Stapleton to actually “say something” on this track), the vocals from both Justin and Chris are actually pretty solid, and there is some very real charm to the simplicity of the acoustic guitar melody and stripped-back feel of the song. Not a bad track, and definitely better than the first two singles off of this record. Might need to hear it a few more times to let it grow on me, though.
Hers (Interlude): I know that minute-long interludes shouldn’t really be judged on the same wavelength as full-length songs, so I’ll try to keep this short but “ew” is the word I use to describe this. Look, no disrespect to Jessica Biel, and it’s nice that Justin included her on this, but this interlude adds next-to-nothing to the album, and once again, I kind of feel the need to take a shower after hearing this. Let’s just forget this one, next…
Flannel: Keeping things pretty country-flavored on this track, this song kind of makes me feel like I want to fall asleep. Justin’s vocals are nice and all, and the acoustic guitar track on here isn’t too bad, but it’s just really boring, and given that it’s almost five minutes, don’t be shocked if you feel like you’ll want to nod off during this track. Again, I feel like Justin is capable of so much more than this, and it’s not bad because it’s different, it’s bad because it’s boring.
Montana: Alright, now we’re back to the funky sound that hasn’t been working at all, and I don’t know why/if he’s expecting it to work now, but it just feels like dentist’s office music at this point. Once again, his jumps into his falsetto lack any real charm or excitement, and the instrumental on here doesn’t really distinguish itself from many of the other songs on this record. Sure, a few cool things are going on in it, but it just feels really contrived and boring at this point.
Breeze Off The Pond: While this track has a nice groove to it, Justin really doesn’t say anything all that interesting on this song, and instrumentally, he doesn’t do anything to really make this thing all that exciting…or, for that matter, any different from the other tracks on the album. There’s definitely some commercial potential on this track, and it could be a nice dance-y single, but it honestly just doesn’t sound all that interesting to me. Better than some of the other stuff on here, but nothing that special. (Oh, and very minor thing that doesn’t affect the song here, but Justin, Ed Sheeran beat you to the “Tiny Dancer” reference. Just saying.)
Livin’ Off The Land: I can appreciate this one for trying to be slightly more soulful than some of the other tracks, but some of the strange instrumental sounds I’m hearing are really annoying and almost ruin the song for me. Justin stays out of his falsetto here, which keeps the track from really hitting any super-duper low points, but again, this thing just feels really contrived and overdone, especially in the context of the album, seeing as it follows so many similar-sounding tracks.
The Hard Stuff: A more sunny track that’s definitely firmly in touch with its country roots, this one doesn’t distinguish much from other tracks and, while it sounded like he was trying to do a Bruno Mars impression before, this track makes him sound like he’s doing a not-so-faithful impression of John Mayer. Sure, it’s nice on the ears, but Justin, I don’t want to give you “the hard stuff.” I actually want the image of you asking for “hard stuff” out of my head now. Please and thank you.
Young Man: Justin ends off the album with a dedication to his young son Silas. I think it’s a really sweet gesture and I’m usually a sucker for these very personal songs, but I have to say that I still feel like I need a shower after the one line where Justin says “got it from your momma / damn, she look good, you might get a sister.” Please don’t put that imagery in my head when I’m trying to hear you make an ode to your son, it’s out of place. Anyway, the song is definitely sweet, and Justin’s vocals are pretty smooth, but again, it does sound like a lot of the other tracks on here. A decent end to the record, but nothing all that special.
Overall, with “Man of the Woods,” Justin Timberlake resorts to some pretty boring, repetitive funk and (occasionally) country sounds in what amounts to an overall very unexciting, very lackluster record. Lyrically, Justin spends a lot of the album repeating himself, and instrumentally, he does nothing even remotely interesting on this record. His vocals often lack any real charm, as he jumps into his falsetto to weak results, and the album doesn’t really have all that many features to save this thing. I’m sorry, I just think this record is really weak and really forgettable in almost every area, and while the tracks are pretty nice on the ears at times, it feels like Justin doesn’t have that effortless charisma and charm that he used to have. I can’t help but feel like even hardcore Justin Timberlake fans might look at this thing and demand something better, something a little less contrived and mediocre. I wanted to like this, but there’s just no way that I can.
Honestly, avoid it. Justin’s capable of far better than this.
Favorite tracks: Morning Light
Least favorite tracks: Filthy, Sauce, Supplies, Hers (Interlude), Flannel, The Hard Stuff,
Rating: Awful
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