REVIEW: Justin Timberlake’s ‘Man of the Woods’ shows progression in age and career
Having now released five albums, Justin Timberlake proves that he still has the artistic skill he has put into his previous albums, as well as still knowing how to create great work as he reaches forty. But like all great art, even the greatest ones eventually begin to show their age and Timberlake’s “Man of the Woods” is just one example.
Much has changed in the five years since Timberlake, often dubbed the “President of Pop” released his two-part album “The 20/20 Experience.” Since 2013, Timberlake went from being a married man to a new father, his son Silas being born in April 2015. Timberlake has gone on to say that the album is even named after his son, the name Silas meaning “Man of the Forest.”
In this album, Timberlake provides his usual Timberlake aesthetic, combining R&B and pop with a dance-pop sound that shows funk and electric pop influence. While Timberlake released a short video saying the album is not a country album, something that had long been rumored since the album’s production, the album does demonstrate a country influence on songs like “Say Something,” which features country southern rock artist Chris Stapleton. Timberlake seeks to continue fusing his sound with other genres, in this case, southern rock. Timberlake went on record noting that this album would sound closest to the music that comes out of his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
“I think where I grew up in America has a lot of influence – Growing up in Tennessee — very central of the country — Memphis is known as the birthplace of rock & roll, but also the home of the blues, but Nashville’s right down the street so there’s a lot of country music,” Timberlake said to Rolling Stone magazine. “It sounds more like where I’ve come from than any other music I’ve ever made… It’s Southern American music. But I want to make it sound modern – at least that’s the idea right now.”
Timberlake lives up to these ideas while not drifting too far from his previous works. The album demonstrates a variety of styles seen on his previous albums, such as the electro-pop found of his magnum opus “Futuresex/Lovesounds,” the experimental soul of “The 20/20 Experience” or the hook-filled R&B sound of his debut 2002 album “Justified.”
Songs such as “Say Something”, which features Christ Stapleton, and “Flannel” demonstrate the Southern rock-inspired sound Timberlake wishes to adopt, the former of which is a highlight of both the album and Timberlake’s catalog. The lead single for the album, “Filthy” demonstrates Timberlake wishing to create a song with his “Futuresex/Lovesounds” sound on steroids, with the techno production overshadowing Timberlake’s vocals and somewhat banal lyrics. “Man of the Woods” is a fair highlight of the album, showing the album’s desire to be tender R&B with a southern rock influence, but the album has many funky moments like “Midnight Summer’s Jam.” The album proves to nevertheless be underwhelming in its potential, such as in songs like “Morning Light” which features, but ultimately underutilizes, R&B singer Alicia Keys. The album demonstrates Timberlake’s self-awareness as a husband and father, with several tracks featuring lyrical themes of family life, as well as there being several tracks featuring uncredited vocals by Timberlake’s son, Silas, and wife Jessica Biel.
Overall, Timberlake’s fifth album is a mature effort that shows his current feelings, thoughts and state of mind now as a father and husband, as well as an artist wishing to return to his hometown roots like so many artists eventually do. While the album is not on the level of his iconic “Futuresex” album, nor as intricate as “The 20/20 Experience”, the album is a decent step in Timberlake’s career but begs the question for whether the President of Pop has truly reached his peak.
