Review Summary: Justin Timberlake attempts to bring sexy back, realizes it was in his pocket the entire time.
You know, there's a lot of talk about inequality, stereotypes, and the like, but it's seemingly all in regards to minorities. I, Tyler Munro, am white; in fact, I'm the whitest of white. I have to say that we crackers are not without our share of stereotypes. We can't jump, we can't dress, and we can't dance. While my jumping ability is less than spectacular, my style about as interesting as the colour beige, the last one, the one about dancing, that one hits me close to home. No, I can't dunk, but man can I get my groove on. This and this alone is why I'm here. I truly and honestly believe that I was put here on this earth to bring the house down, to dispel that misconception about whitey dancing once and for all. Luckily, Justin Timberflake's sophomore album, a concoction of electro-funk and forward slashes, was just released and, to be frank, it's the theme song to my final dance off.
When I first heard SexyBack, two things came to mind. First off, I thought, "Wow, this really fuc
king sucks", and then I wondered, "broken spacebar?". A few days later, I found out he was
bringing sexy back, so that was that, and while it still didn't solve the mystery of the broken spacebar, it made me guess that he was probably trying to differentiate between the idea of a sexy back. I guess punctuation isn't Justin's strongest subject. There was still one problem: I still thought the song was terrible. A few days later, however, everything changed. Riding (Dirteh?) in a friend's car, the radio nearly maxed out in volume, my friend changed the station. Initially I was pissed off; I was rather enjoying Chamillionaire. My "anger" subsided once I noticed that now, gracing the speakers of her mothers minivan, was the aforementioned return of sexy. Maybe it was the volume, maybe it was the adrenaline (she's a terrible driver), but for whatever reason, I was really enjoying the song this time around. Sure, it's silly and arrogant to say you're bringing sexy back when, to me, it never really left, but on the surface it's a really fun track. As she stepped out to get gas, I was brought to the bridge and instantly caught in the act. I, captain cracker, was gettin' down, groovin' to the extreme, whatever. Dancing in that minivan, a moment indescribably beautiful, made me realize that while the song (and album) may not be a torchbearer for the return of sexy, it's still a lot of fun. The very same idea carries over to the album as a whole; while overtly "sexy" in delivery, it's at its simplest, a sh
itload of fun.
The album, while different from Justified, is your typical Justin Timberlake. While during the funkier parts Justin's voice is loaded with effects, at its simplest his voice is your standard boyish falsetto. Much like Rock Your Body off Justified, JT feels the need to show off his beatboxing skills. Towards the end of LoveStoned, Timberlake beatboxes over symphonics before letting us know ‘she's freaky and she knows it'. He's letting us know he's till got it. Got what you ask? Little to no beatboxing ability. Seriously Justin, you're not Rahzel. What Goes Around is to me the most reminiscent of Justified, coming off like an unofficial ‘Cry Me a River Pt2', though it's not to say it's a carbon copy. It's not a bad thing either, that Justin's little idiosyncrasies make their way onto the album, as the album is (if you can even say this about a sophomore release) atypical Justin. As previously stated, Justin's voice is often layered in reverberation, and other subtle, yet effective effects. My guess is the effects are there to compliment the FutureSex/LoveSound Justin attempts to coin on the album.
For those wondering what that sound is, it's really not as silly as it sounds. Take a pinch of boyish Justin, add in a pound or two gratuitous "sexy", a lot of Prince and a modern flair and there you have it. The title track starts the album with a funky, layered sound; drums and a twangy, synthy bass, while simple, add a sense of depth to an otherwise drab and repetitious beat. It shouldn't work, but it does. The title track does a great job at introducing us to the "new" Justin, the "sexy" Justin. That's probably the main problem with the album. While it can be argued the hyperbolic claim of the albums future sex-a-rific sound can unnerve the most open of listeners, the biggest turn off, for me, is JT's blatant attempt at being sexy. Track one introduces us to the Future
Sex sound. On track two, he lets us know he's bringing
SexyBack. Track three is no different; it's all about the
Sexy Ladies. Maybe it's just me, but I believe a key to being sexy is to have it come off as natural; not subtle, per se, but not so in yo' face, an idea JT should maybe take into consideration for his next album. Luckily, the album isn't without its share of sex appeal. While Damn Girl, featuring Will.I.Am and his recently developed stutter features downright silly lyrics. The sound, while oddly haunting, brings back memories of a sexier era (see: the 70s). The song begins with a drum and bass loop until an organ kicks in below Justin's Prince-like falsetto, complete with yowls and shouts alike. As the chorus kicks in, JT let's us know he's got to put it down tonight, and as said before, he does try a little too hard to come off as the sex machine we all know he isn't. The evidence of sexiness is not found in his lyrics, or even his voice, but in the songs as a whole; the song a modern (not futuristic) take on Soul and Motown is one of many tracks on the album I can see boots-a-knockin' too. I could just do without Will.I.Am's
wu-wu-wu-wu's, because if there was ever a mood-killer, that's it.
The album works as a whole, which is nice to say. While some songs stand out more than others (LoveStoned, My Love), there's almost nothing to complain about. Sure, the lyrics are juvenile and disposable, but this isn't meant to blow your minds. A major fault with Justified was the ballad-factor. Luckily, FutureSex has only one actual ballad, (Another Song) All Over Again, and it's fairly painless. It's easily the most Michael Jackson-like track, at least that's how I see it. And that's just how it goes with the album. While Justin seems to be trying to find himself, he still relies on others; Prince and Michael Jackson are the most obvious influences, and he makes no real effort to shy away from this. Luckily, he pulls it off.
This album is good clean(ish) fun, nothing less, nothing more. The only real stinker, in my opinion, is Chop Me Up, (featuring Three Six Mafia). The song comes off as a really forced and unnecessary take on Southern Rap. Justin Timberlake tries to turn on the "thug" during this song; the intonation in his voice becomes slurred and well, silly. Sorry Justin, you're not fooling anyone. Pose, while a bonus track, is also less than impressive. It's your typical Snoop-a-loop guest track. Generic and bubbly, Snoop comes in, performs a lacklustre rap, everyone's amused because, well, that's Snoop Dogg. Overall, there's little to complain about on the album. Come to this album expecting something fun, slightly unique and consistently listenable and you won't be disappointed. If you're looking for Justin to turn over a new leaf, to come to some existential epiphany, well, prepare to be disappointed. On this album, I learned that Justin is "one of the greatest" and has "sexy ladies" all over his "floor". Sadly, as great and carpeted as he may be, he's not bringing sexy back. And why the fu
ck would he crush a perfectly good disco ball? Because he's a badass, that's why. Keep dancing.
