Justin Timberlake is changing things up on his fifth album, Man of the Woods including a little bit of everything- country, pop, and some songs that I can’t even categorize. JT is one of the most successful pop artists and I believe that this album is a bit of a misstep for him. Let’s think back to his whole career.
JT is known as an innovator. His first hit “Cry Me a River” is still a hit 16 years later and his album The 20/20 Experience was brilliant. Now, we see his first album in 5 years and it is a little all over the place, as he framed his new music as a fusion of southern sounds- a little weird.
Something that I really love about ‘Man of the Woods’ is how he involves his family on a handful of the tracks. Timberlake’s wife, Jessica Biel, sings or speaks on a few tracks as well as the song “Young Man” includes their toddler.
Some of my favorite songs on this album includes “Sauce”, “Morning Light” (featuring Alicia Keys), and “Midnight Summer Jam”. It’s hard to choose a favorite song because they are all so different than each other and different then his past albums. But, this album includes lyrics that are a lot better than lyrics in his past albums.
Overall, this album is a little weird but pretty good. It's hard to criticise Man of the Woods with all its flaws. We expect a lot out of JT and this album has been long waited for. Either way, Justin Timberlake still stands as one of the most important solo artists of this century
