Critics’ Corner: Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods

Maddie Mullany, Staff Reporter

Just two days before wowing crowds at the Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake released his fifth studio album on February 2. Topping Variety’s list of the most anticipated albums of 2018, Man of the Woods is predicted to dominate the charts this year.

The record contains sixteen songs, and is Timberlake’s most distinctive album yet. He stays dedicated to familiar sounds that have made him one of the leading male pop stars of this generation, but Man of the Woods contains aspects of country, blues, and folk as well. The beginning half of the album is mostly cosmopolitan future-funk. The opening track, “Filthy”, conjures different sounds and musical elements that create a beautiful, yet disorienting tension unlike any other songs on the air. In “Supplies,” Timberlake makes interesting and eclectic comparisons between his love and light, firewood, and emergency generators. In “Livin’ Off the Land,” he mixes strong beats with guitar strums. The title track, “Man of the Woods,” offers a country-rap combo of sounds with the use of bass and steel guitar. The album features artists such as Alicia Keys in “Morning Light,” and Chris Stapleton in the lead single “Say Something.” There is even an appearance by Timberlake’s wife, Jessica Biel in the song “Flannel.”

The songs on Man of the Woods include retro-pop, avant-funk, and modern countrypolitan sounds, and the record is far more explorative and probing than his previous releases, displaying juddering beats and meaningful country blues. Though Man of the Woods is far from perfect, it embodies a new style unlike anything Timberlake has produced before and is definitely worth a listen.