Album Review: Man of the Woods

By: Thomas Neira

Justin Timberlake follows up his 2013 hit album The 20/20 Experience nearly five years later with 2018’s Man of the Woods. However, those that are looking for more of the same of what made Timberlake’s last album so great will surely be disappointed. Timberlake tries to change his sound from The 20/20 Experience’s soulful elegance that made it so beloved in the pop music community. The outcome, unfortunately, is a rather messy cluster of songs that are overproduced, such as the heavy synths and overbearing basslines on the album’s opening track “Filthy”, and use of cringey samples, like in the song “Sauce” that samples a clip from the viral video where a store employee explains the difference between the terms “juice” and “sauce”.

There are some tracks on this album that are worth listening to, though. “Say Something”, featuring Chris Stapleton, finds a way blend pop rock and country music well, and “Morning Light”, featuring Alicia Keys, serves as the most sincere track on the entire project. But as a whole, Timberlake’s latest project is a huge let-down that fails to blend genres the way it tries to and ultimately pails in comparison its predecessor.