27th Best Album of 2024
Justin Timberlake
2 Awesomes /18 tot = 11.11%
6 greats
6 good-ish
77.78% output is good & up
Catchy, similar vibe to 20/20,secret break up? Disco, deep bass, jazzy piano-tinkling.
Was the music's reception colored by the recent negative press of Justin? Yes. Was the album largely a let down and disappointment even when employing ‘death of the author’? Also yes.
Selfish- hate auto tune. Chosen to be the one to make it out line doesn't set well with me. Because he is a white male and Memphis is over 50% black.
Crying about privilege is so cringe. Man is worth 250 mil and married to Jessica Biel. He's fine 🙄 I'd rather hear a track about the impact of stage parents.
F*-in up the Disco- Musically deep, but not lyrically.
“You lookin' for worship, baby, well, hey, I got a mantlе (Mantle, mantle)/Got my Gucci Crocs on right now, but we can slide like sandals(Slide)/u hLet me flip you like a sample”/... “I know how you get when you're peakin’ and your favorite record drops (Drops)/Well, this might be one of them, and you know when the chemistry locks/When you wanna take it from the top, we can take it off the top,”... “You a whole bag, let it all unpack/Run your nine-inch nails all over my back/Yeah, I like that, I like that (Like that)/Put your cheekbones all the way into my neck/Take a bite on the side, let your tongue get wet/You the password, I'ma hit reset/That's a promise, not a threat, uh”
Like, what?! Sexy or just… Gross?
No Angels- Disco sound is fun. Last click sounds in the song add interest. Beat good. Ultimately empty, no depth.
Play- The descending intro sounds good. Layered echos are well-placed. Horn is different and southern. Over before it begins. Could have been fleshed out.
Technicolor-I get that it's R&B but it’s way too slow. The song says nothing in the first 3.5 min. The action/traction/crashin’ part didn't do whatever it was trying to do.
Drown- This is one of the songs I liked most on the album. Catchy, some depth to the lyrics, thankfully without the cringe. But who is it about? It doesn't fit with any of his relationships I know about. So I decided it must be about his secret gay affair. The break while saying “break” sounds good.
Liar- Who is he trying to say he doesn't love? I can't understand who this is supposed to be about? Shania just did the liar/fire thing. “hold ya like a conversation.” It’s another song that ends before anything is said, or context is given.
Infinity sex- Oh good grief, is this supposed to be chapter 2 of sexy/back? It's overcompensating, the PE of songs, giving a bit of try-hard for LDE.
“I just wanna love you for long time, long time, long time [Outro] I know the address on your mattress/Just imagine the/acrobatics, woo/Infinity sex”
Cringe goddamn city.
Love & War- Awesome synth. Good falsetto. Great slow song that could be a wedding dance? Who is he fighting with? Where is he staying if asked? Doesn't fit with the Jessica narrative. I have some serious questions about Justin Timberlake’s relationships now.
Sanctified- The blues backing w/piano is nice, deep synth is great and dramatic (best part of the song). He seems too bland and safe to be an animal to me. Secret persona? What sins? Is he repenting to Jessica? Because honestly it seems queer to me. Reminds me of Taylor Swift’s “Don't Blame Me.” He gets on his knees? Call back to Cry Me a River. Unlearn what? New man 👀 The end jams are cool. And of course, more cringe:
“I know it's wrong to sit back and conjure/A million ways for you to heal the monster/That has been postured inside my loins/Yuh, boing/That's what it do when I see you’Il know you see through me and I ain't see through/But you never treat me like I am fecal matter
Reminder: He's worth 250mil
My Favorite Drug- Another disco sound that’s awesome. Syncopated singing is really good. More cringe: “touch your body/no hands” isn’t sexy, it’s gross. Fallin’ in love seems like a new relationship, not the woman he's had 2 kids with. And there’s another lover to drug comparison like ‘Don't Blame Me’. I like the song despite the audience participation stuff. He’s already involved the audience before, and it’s too much, and makes this song too long. I's it a call back? Either way, it’s not good. The dark backing of the bridge might be the best part of the song.
Flame- A break up? But media perception is that he and Jessica are doing good? Someone got away? End of the Earth sounds serious. One that got away- this cannot be about Cameron diaz. Something that could have been. Who is this song about? Certainly not Brittany, because we know he treated her like garbage and little regard for her. The little rap sounds good. “Bad luck/wtf/chalk it up” is too try hard, but sounds good nonetheless.
Imagine- The lower instrument brings a 3rd song with disco flavor. The echo/whisper and imagine series lyrics are cheesy. The skip beat at the end is nice. More overcompensation.
What lovers do- cringe lyrics like:
“Bring the heat to your kitchen/You be the show, ain't no intermission/I'm gonna play every part from finish to start until the curtain call/Lights, camera, action, no actin', I want it all/I'ma light you like a rocket, watch you take off (Take off)/Workin' on your body, ain't no days off (Days off)/And, girl, we overdue (Yeah)/When I get into you, oh/. Bridge goof production. “ and “Swim in your ocean divine/Show me your deep, and I'll dive”
Selfish- It seems like he’s trying to gain sympathy here? But I don’t understand because doubling down on controlling behavior is yuck. Justin is still so immature, and obviously hasn’t learned that much despite being middle-aged now.
Alone- Slow. Emotive singing. Who's love faded? This doesn't seem like a past tense story. And it doesn’t seem like he’s actively in love with Jessica… Multiple Justin's parts sound too boy band. Nice strings.
Paradise- The song is too sparse. It majorly needs some interest.
Conditions- Catchy. It might be the most introspective song on the album? It's all about him. Whiny for having success after success in life. Cringe in relation to Janet and Brittany. Deep synth is good.
The lyrical content of the album was elementary and well, veered into gross and embarrassing a lot of the time. In line with the unsophisticated writing was the lack of depth. It’s like Justin wanted to make an emotional and introspective album, but did not do the emotional work in order to gain any real insight. He comes of as self-absorbed, superficial, and unenlightened.
I saw this after I wrote the review (I don’t want my opinions to be swayed) and it’s 100% accurate:
There’s no accountability, he portrays himself as a victim, even when he’s the perpetrator. For instance in Selfish, he admits he gets jealous and that he’s selfish. But just dismisses those symptoms saying, I can’t fight it. Then he blames the other person for looking too sexy.
So if I get jealous, I can't help it
I want every bit of you, I guess I'm selfish
It's bad for my mental, but I can't fight it, when
You're out lookin' like you do, but you can't hide it, no
It’s not the best outlook, and doesn’t warrant sympathy. I would have really liked the album better if Justin had talked about stage parents, the pressures of childhood fame, what it’s like to be under Disney’s strict morality rules, and how being in a manufactured boy band might have made him feel stifled. I would like to hear the REAL issues in his life, not just more blaming women for his insecurities.
And speaking of insecurity. It’s vividly displayed throughout the album. Justin is frontin’. He’s overcompensating. He wants to portray an image that I just didn’t buy. Dude is a Disney-N’Sync twink, but thinks he’s a hardcore rocker rifling through vices. I would like some actual contemplation on his part and more authentic lyrics next time around.
The authenticity was a question mark for me when taking in many of the songs. I wondered–are the lyrics accurate to Justin’s life, or are the headline’s of his happy marriage to Jessica the truth? Because those two pieces don’t jibe. I came out of the album wondering if their good relationship is PR, and if there’s some other person (a guy?) in the mix.
But to end on a good note: As usual the production of the songs were exhilarating. Everything was slick and the historical inspiration for the music was augmented with tech. Example, the Southern, R&B, and blues aspects were noticeable and expanded upon.
Though the album suffers the typical streaming-era problem of bloat. A couple of the songs should have been chopped or fleshed out more. Also there could have been more continuity between the tracks. I didn’t look, but it sounds like couplets of songs were produced by different people, then the tracklist was jumbled together. A final edit to make the work more cohesive as a unit would have brought it up a notch.
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