Halfway by All the things I Thought It Was, Justin Timberlake makes a callback that he is aware of his followers are going to like. “Hey fellas! Hey fellas!,” he crows in the course of the dance barnburner “My Favourite Drug,” to which he’s greeted with a refrain of manly “Yeahhhh”s. Timberlake then goes, “I do know I did it earlier than, however I’ma do it once more!” And after that, after all, he pivots to the women: “I do know you got here right here alone, however you gon’ depart with a pal!”
The nod in the direction of the traditional call-and-response hook of Justified traditional “Señorita” is intentional, and emblematic of what Timberlake has got down to accomplish on his first album since 2018’s Man of the Woods. That album dabbled in nation, Americana, conventional R&B and funk by a dance-pop lens; components of Man of the Woods had been fascinating, different components didn’t fairly land, and the experiment earned Timberlake a few of the harshest critiques of his profession.
Six complete years have handed since then, a number of full eras of widespread music together with them, and Timberlake has re-emerged with an album that plucks him out of the woods and higher understands his core attraction. All the things I Thought It Was finds Timberlake taking part in the hits to a level — shimmering rhythmic pop; crackling, Timbaland-helmed beats; disco grooves that aren’t contained to radio-single lengths; even the return of *NSYNC — but in addition doesn’t characterize a retreat into secure territory. Timberlake could also be squarely in his forties at this level, however he nonetheless goals to have each second of a sprawling, 76-minute album be thought of thrilling. He’s a consummate entertainer who is aware of what he’s finest at, and nonetheless finds events to function within the margins of his aesthetic.
Since his final album launch, Timberlake has confronted newfound public scrutiny, each in regard to his previous relationship with Britney Spears in addition to for his position within the Tremendous Bowl XXXVIII halftime present controversy; Timberlake has revisited these points himself, whereas additionally declaring in live performance that he’d wish to “apologize to completely f–king no person.” All the things I Thought It Was is bookended by a pair of songs, “Memphis” and “Situations,” that dissect his relationship to superstar and the pristine picture that he maintained for a few years within the highlight earlier than blemishes started to be highlighted (“I’m much less Superman, extra Clark Kent/ You need a hero, I don’t know the place he went,” he admits on the latter monitor).
In between these two songs is greater than an hour’s value of finely crafted, wholly satisfying pop, however the starting and ending stand out, and fascinate, amid renewed scrutiny. Timberlake is understood to take roughly a half-decade to craft full-length statements, however let’s hope he comes again sooner subsequent time, and continues to stability luxurious radio fodder with self-reflection.
Whereas all of All the things I Thought It Was is value testing, which tracks are the early standouts? Here’s a preliminary rating of each track on Justin Timberlake’s newest album.
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“Flame”
On “Flame,” Timberlake repeats the chorus, “Bear in mind, ‘member, ‘member once you stated/ You’d love me ’til I die, love me, love me ’til I die?,” as if a change of coronary heart has pushed him mad, and dredging up previous commitments may spare him from devastation. “Flame” by no means correctly coalesces round that harm, though a bridge halfway by supplies a nifty changeup by accentuating the piano within the combine.
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“Technicolor”
A part of what made FutureSex/LoveSounds so thrilling upon its launch was how a few of its largest hits expanded past pop-song runtimes, their hooks refracted in new instructions, as tracks like “What Goes Round…” and “LoveStoned” had been deconstructed in daring manners. “Technicolor,” which stretches previous the seven-minute mark, harkens again to that mannequin, as Timberlake takes a usually suave R&B track after which shakes it up, with a quickened pulse and glossy ardour, on the track’s extra dynamic second half.
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“Egocentric”
Probably the most low-key lead single that Timberlake has ever launched, “Egocentric” each launched the album’s back-to-basics aesthetic upon its launch, in addition to served as a little bit of a crimson herring for a full-length filled with dance fare. The heat of “Egocentric” is constructed to develop on the listener, and maybe nod towards grownup modern audiences; both means, the one demonstrates a maturation of Timberlake’s method, the place a quiet slice of jealousy remains to be wholly polished and aimed on the mainstream.
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“Alone”
A pointy flip away from the boldness brimming on a majority of the album, Timberlake sounds downright forlorn on “Alone,” a post-breakup piano ballad through which he glumly admits, “Mеmories are the worst proper now/ In my thoughts we’re nonetheless dancing/ To a track that we will’t make out.” The stripped-back method performs out properly on the again half of the album, though a few of the heartbroken metaphors don’t fairly land; “Alone” is at its peak when Timberlake is muttering the title like he’s simply realized that’s the place he now finds himself on the track.
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“What Lovers Do”
A intercourse jam filled with Timbaland hallmarks (proper right down to his introductory “Uh!”), “What Lovers Do” hums, bumps and whirs, recalling the producer’s signature moments whereas by no means placing strain on itself to surpass his excessive factors. For his half, Timberlake sounds particularly animated right here, embracing each innuendo and slowing down his tender crooning to match the monitor’s woozy remaining minute.
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“Love & Battle”
After a couple of dance cuts on the monitor record, Timberlake carves out some house for the instrumentation to breathe on “Love & Battle,” a falsetto-heavy toast to complicated devotion that comes near torch track territory. The drums thud and warped voices echo in between traces like “Child, it’s you/ You’re the one one which I combat for,” as Timberlake pulls again the reins a bit; “Love & Battle” is technically spectacular, even because it’s designed to allow you to catch your breath.
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“Play”
A lot of the tracks on All the things I Thought It Was are significantly shorter than these of, say, The 20/20 Expertise… but when Timberlake busts out “Play” on his upcoming enviornment tour, he’s gotta lengthen the horn-filled outro and let the groove get in a bit of longer, proper? Earlier than he breaks it down, Timberlake unwinds on “Play,” following the bass line whereas waxing poetic on some much-needed R&R and harmonies crash in to amplify his sly flirtations.
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“Memphis”
In contrast to earlier album openers, which Timberlake has used to drag the curtain up on a brand new sound and period, “Memphis” kicks off All the things I Thought It Was with an origin story, filled with heavy expectations which might be positioned on a younger JT’s shoulders and delivered in a clear-eyed sing-rap. “Memphis” is successfully revealing — significantly throughout a rapped bridge through which Timberlake cops to a few of his missteps — however nearly too restrained musically, with solely a gradual beat and whooshing results anchoring his admissions.
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“Creativeness”
A number of songs earlier than the much-ballyhooed *NSYNC reunion on the monitor record, Timberlake serves up a monitor that sounds beamed in from boy-band days of yore: “Creativeness” is pure, scrumptious bubblegum, with JT taking part in the position of heartthrob promising to exceed your expectations and alter your life (with, presumably, high-pitched enviornment shrieks as a suitable response). “Creativeness” makes for a enjoyable, frothy throwback, particularly for these nonetheless spinning the same themes of “Girlfriend” on repeat.
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“No Angels”
“No Angels” finds Timberlake firmly in his “Rock Your Physique” pocket, zipping out and in of a disco-funk showcase and tossing out refrains earlier than hunkering down on a refrain that declares, “Therе ain’t no angels right here on the dance flooring.” The best way that JT collapses his syllables right here, permitting the assonance of a line like “Just a bit extra time, a bit of unwinding” to roll off his tongue, demonstrates the charisma that he can effortlessly deploy on an uptempo monitor like this.
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“Situations”
Timberlake ends All the things I Thought It Was with a heavy dose of self-reflection, as “Situations” appears within the mirror over blown-out synths and unassuming guitar licks, and preaches resilience by assessments of character. Supporters and critics alike will interpret “Situations” as a key into the psyche of a celebrity, however Timberlake, singing his confessions quietly and earnestly, seems like he merely needs to convey his flaws into the daylight, and for onlookers to glimpse his humanity.
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“Liar” (feat. Fireboy DML)
A veteran American artist attempting to trip the 2020s Afrobeats wave may very simply come throughout as cringey, however “Liar,” Timberlake’s new collaboration with Nigerian celebrity Fireboy DML, succeeds by discovering a typical floor between the 2 pop generations: Fireboy croons come-ons (“I’m tryna maintain you want a dialog,” he winks) whereas Justin matches his charisma over a beat that sparkles and makes room for some well-placed “woo”s. The result’s an album spotlight that’s not onerous to think about leaping onto high 40 radio this summer time.
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“My Favourite Drug”
The disco throb of “My Favourite Drug” lasts for 5 minutes, however it can take you lower than that so as to add this kinetic standout to your favourite uptempo playlist. Timberlake is totally in his master-of-ceremonies zone right here, flaring up on the refrain, letting the starry-eyed synths work their magic, together with the listeners on the breakdown and puffing his chest on the outro; he is aware of that “My Favourite Drug” exists in his pop celebrity candy spot and maximizes each inch of it.
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“Fuckin’ Up the Disco”
Timberlake has made loads of dance music previously (and lots extra throughout All the things I Thought It Was), however there’s one thing delightfully imply about “Fuckin’ Up the Disco,” a sneer that Timberlake can’t shake whereas attempting to conjure boogieing from his plenty. Co-produced by Calvin Harris, the monitor bares its enamel after which assaults on the post-chorus, through which almost each phrase is repeated and JT’s voice is warped to make your complete ordeal extra intoxicating.
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“Sanctified” (feat. Tobe Nwigwe)
For Man of the Woods apologists who loved that album’s experimental streak, you might be seen — and “Sanctified,” a fuzzed-out hymnal that includes finest new artist Grammy nominee Tobe Nwigwe, locates an itch that you just didn’t know Timberlake may scratch. A platform for righteous braggadocio — Timberlake talks his trash and asks for holy forgiveness amidst gospel-adjacent hooting and hollering, earlier than a searing guitar solo and Nwigwe’s possessed circulation take cost — “Sanctified” paints with daring new colours for Timberlake, gesturing on the rock and nation crossovers on his earlier album whereas additionally cooking up a extra satisfying product.
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“Paradise” (feat. *NSYNC)
Though *NSYNC formally returned final 12 months with “Higher Place,” their first single in over twenty years, from the Trolls Band Collectively soundtrack, this new reunion monitor “Paradise” accommodates extra persona, understands the quintet’s vocal dynamic extra succinctly and is solely a extra profitable track. The hooks invite clap-alongs, whereas a few of the strongest lyrical moments — “All this time I’ve all the time puzzled if it might really feel the identical/ Because it did after we had been younger and never afraid” — replicate on the group’s shared historical past in a way that’s touching with out being overly saccharine.
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“Drown”
When Timberlake talks about utilizing All the things I Thought It Was as a creative palette cleanser that returns his sound again to what followers need from him (and what he needs for himself), it’s onerous not to consider a track like “Drown,” which mixes a few of JT’s strongest skills — lip-smacking rhythmic pop hooks, crestfallen metaphors, vulnerability curdling right into a craving falsetto — in a brand new, absorbing package deal. Bonus factors for a bridge with sufficient romantic roads not taken to fill a sequel to Previous Lives.
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“Infinity Intercourse”
Is “infinity intercourse” the pure extension of FutureSex? We’ll by no means know for sure, however this dance flooring filler, co-produced by Timbaland, dazzles with the identical triumphant power as Timberlake’s second solo album: sweeping strings, tongue-clicking percussion and a bass line that calls for motion soundtrack an ode to fast pleasure, future be damned. “Infinity Intercourse” accommodates a few of Timberlake and Timbaland’s time-honored strikes, however the system nonetheless works, together with the rap breakdown that places a bow on this affair.
