Justin Timberlake's 'Man of the Woods': an unsatisfying mix of disjointed styles

Most albums aren’t perfect. Not every song on an album is going to be excellently produced, written and performed. Likewise, not every album is going to be listened to in full, especially in today’s era of music streaming and instant access to thousands of hours of music. Artists have to fight for a listener’s attention on albums. Each song has to be as new, unexpected, exciting and vibrant as the last. Some artists can achieve this while also experimenting and keeping to a theme on their work (see Charli XCX’s 2017 mixtape, “Pop 2”). Some artists crack under the pressure to produce something different and appealing (see Katy Perry’s 2017 album, “Witness”). On “Man of the Woods” (2018), Justin Timberlake’s latest release, there is experimentation, but it just doesn’t work on some songs and leads to an unsatisfying and mixed release.

Timberlake skyrocketed to solo success with critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums like “Justified” (2002) and “FutureSex/LoveSounds" (2006). In 2013, his album “The 20/20 Experience” continued Timberlake’s success, with the song “Suit & Tie” selling 315,000 first-week downloads in the United States. These are successful precedents, all with similar sounds. Prior to the release of “Man of the Woods” (2018), Timberlake described the album as sounding like his background and where’s he from, specifically featuring “modern Americana with 808s.”

Timberlake thrives on radio-friendly hits, and “Man of the Woods” (2018) has some radio-ready songs, like “Montana” and “Midnight Summer Jam.” Those songs, like the best of the album, play out like any other Timberlake album, with subtle changes in Timberlake’s idea of Americana. There are guitars and harmonicas, but they don’t sound too different. The album also features some weird outliers, like “Say Something," featuring Chris Stapleton and the uncomfortable “Hers (interlude).” On these songs, it seems like Timberlake experimented too much with a different style. At some points, it feels almost like two completely different albums smashed together. The almost disco sound of “Montana” has no business coming after country ballad “Flannel.”

The sound is, in totality, weird and awkward at times. It ranges from having a usual Timberlake sound, where it would’ve thrived best, to extreme electronic production, like on “Filthy,” and even at moments to country. It feels as if Timberlake shoved multiple styles together, and in all honestly, he shouldn’t have. Timberlake’s variation of R&B and pop was always going to be radio-friendly and keep him successful. So why try and fix something that wasn’t broken?

Furthermore, the album’s lyrics just don’t feel like any thought was put into them. They're usual Timberlake lyrics, but sprinkled with some out-of-place family and hometown references. What makes songs like “Breeze Off the Pond” and “Livin’ Off the Land” failures is the strange mix of lyrics referencing the outdoors while also keeping the usual Timberlake vibe. Even some of the best songs, like “Montana” and "Midnight Summer Jam,” feature weird lyrics like, “Y’all can’t do better than this / Act like the south ain’t the s---.”

There are so many points where it seems like “Man of the Woods” might work, and it does at times. There are some definite jams ready for radio. Truthfully, it feels like that’s what Timberlake wanted: an album that has a few gems that can become singles, play on the radio and make money. This album may have been advertised as a change of sound to get people listening, but the tracks people will be listening to are the ones where Timberlake plays it safe.