I love Justin Timberlake, like…a lot. Since his *NSYNC days, he’s held a special place in my heart. 20/20 Parts 1 and 2 still make my heart happy when I hear them. So, when I heard that my man JT was releasing a new album (Man of the Woods), I was really freaking excited. But then…he started releasing singles. The first two, “Filthy” and “Supplies”, did NOT sound like the Justin I know and love. What they do sound like is every other song you hear on the radio. And I won’t lie people, I was afraid that Justin Timberlake was about to drop an album that I was not going to like.
Then came “Say Something” with Chris Stapleton, and my heart was once again happy because I knew that Justin I love was back. The rest of the album, which was released on February 2, 2018, is full of the JT sound we love. Not just 20/20 Justin either, some Justified and Future Sex/LoveSounds vibes make their way in, too.
Here are my personal favorites (after listening to it about 100 times):
“Man of the Woods”: This is the title track, and it’s a fun and upbeat song that you can’t help but sing and/or dance along to. The music video features Jessica Biel (married to Justin), and it’s nothing if not adorable. I cannot wait to see this one live.
“Morning Light” with Alicia Keys: New favorite song alert!! This is a sweet song about being lucky to be in love with an SO. It gets me all the way in my feels, and the JT and Alicia Keys pairing is beautiful. Definitely worth a listen, or 50.
“Higher Higher”: This song seems to be one that you either love or you hate. There are a few odd lyrics here and there but I can’t listen to it without at least humming along. But, whether you like it or not, you can’t disagree with the opening line, “Stress is cruel”.
“Say Something” with Chris Stapleton: “Say Something” was one of the singles released before the album and it saved the day, in my opinion. I would explain further but “sometimes, the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all”.
“Young Man”: If you are a lover of everything JT, this song may bring a few tears to your eyes. It ends with the voice of Justin and Jessica’s son, Silas, saying “I love you, daddy”. While I have yet to see anything to definitively say that the song is about Silas, it’s easy to assume that the song is written for him. JT tells him it’s okay to cry, that he’ll be there for him, and that one day this “young man” will have to stand for something. Add to that the fact that the album is named after Silas and just prepare to cry yourself a river.
There are some songs on the album that I don’t love as much, but as a whole it’s a much needed return to adult music from JT (I still love Trolls, though). Definitely give Man of the Woods a listen when you have a chance. It’s not for everyone, but you’ll find at least one song that you like.