FutureSex/LoveSounds is an album that requires at the very least 2 listens. The first time, you will undoubtedly be turned off by the album's lack of warmth and the lack of traditional song structure. On the second listen, everything comes together and suddenly all of the beats make sense, you can't help but move and you realise you're enjoying yourself. On the 3rd try- you begin to notice Timbaland's rich and textured production (his best in years) and that Timberlake has finally grown into his persona of a playa and it actually feels natural. Unlike in his last B grade album, Justified, where the persona came off as forced and awkward at best, here the pop star comes into his own, as if he himself is finally convinced and therefore you should be two.
1. FutureSex/LoveSound 4:02 A +
The title track on the album is perhaps it's shining moment: It grooves along to a bassline that dictates to the rest of the song as Timberlake whispers along into your ears. It all blows along on that groove until the chorus where Timbaland changes it up ever so slightly while Justin sings that "She's coughed up for me/I've got her in my zone/Her body's whistled for me/I think she's ready to blow". The short blast of change quickly retreats to a hook that is to die for as Timberlake (with his vocals multitracked) as he coos "Tell me which way you like that" and it all comes together. The whole song is compact, the shortest on the album, giving you just enough and leaving you wanting more. It's quite possibly perfect and by the end, you've completely zoned out just moving your body and whispering that line over and over again.
2. SexyBack 4:02 A-
The title track suddenly stops to give way to the that noise and you know exactly what you're listening to. The song has divided both the public and critical community, mostly because it is rather unapologetic in it's lack of traditional melody. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who enjoyed it on first listen but in the 2 months it's been out its grown on me (and most everyone seeing as its number 1) and now the 'chorus' where Justin and co repeat the call and answer bit with Timbaland chanting "Go ahead be gone with it" over drums and synths slowly builds into a crescendo going higher and higher and then leaving you hanging. Sure, the lyrics are terrible but who the fuck listens to Justin Timberlake for the lyrics?
3. Sexy Ladies/Let Me Talk to You Prelude 5:32 B/B-
'Sexy Ladies' is possibly the least distinguished track on the album, content to be an average club song resting on a minimal slap bass and synth. That said, it is perfect to dance to and works in the capacity of a simple club track. The song gives way into the staple of the album- the interludes that play between songs. I usually hate interludes- they seem like unnecessary filler material, but on this album some of the best moments come from these interludes and also help to make the transition from one track to next smooth. The 'Let Me Talk to You Prelude' is crazy- a batshit insane cowbell and where Timbo and Timberlake spar on with abandon and flows perfectly into...
4. My Love (featuring T.I.) 4:36 A+
Timberlake is full falsetto mode with his voice in his highest register and Timberland employing a human beat-box for percussion. By the chorus where your ears are dripping in sound and the whole thing has turned symphonic. 'My Love' is like honey dripping out of your ears. The other great thing about the track is T.I. who manages to come in at the bridge and fall perfectly in line with all the other elements of the track- unlike most rap/sung collaborations where the two elements are at odds and take attention to themselves, T.I.'s rhymes are fucking melodic easily settling in with the rest of the song. Exquisite.
5. LoveStoned/I Think She Knows (Interlude) 7:24 A/A++
Words can't really express how LoveStoned works so well but Tom Breihan comes pretty close in The Village Voice of explaining just how the song snakes onto you: ""Love Stoned" starts out on some Medulla shit, with Timbaland building the track almost completely out of layered vocal noises: wicky-wicky cartoon-scratches, a hummed bassline, rhythmic breaths, all converted into a totally convincing club track. Then, on the chorus, a great Quincy Jones string flourish comes in and makes everything feel lighter than air while an awestruck Timberlake sings about clubbing as something like a religious experience: "Those flashing lights come from everywhere / The way they hit, I have to stop and stare." And everything keeps mutating and evolving; the Nile Rogers guitar-scratches and Latin-funk congas don't even hit until around the three-minute mark." That's right.
Then comes the interlude- where the thumping club track suddenly transforms into the most elegiac moment on the album. A guitar strums solemnly as Timberlake repeats the line from 'LoveStoned' but this time with an aching vulnerability. By the time he singing "I think that she knows" you are hopelessly hooked. The song is fucking ethereal. Timbaland and, especially, Timberlake work to create this gorgeous moment out of nowhere and by 6:32 where the strings go on and Timberlake simply hums over them, you are totally swept away.
6. What Goes Around...Comes Around (Interlude) 7:28 A+
This album's 'Cry Me a River', Timbaland employs a trick he knows well: the vaguely eastern synth. But instead of using it to for a club track- he uses it for this song where JT admonishes a cheating lover. The song comes off as average until the chorus kicks in and the Timberlake's voice on an overdrive of multitracking sweep you up creating something entirely unique: A slow number on an R&B record that actually stands up to (and in some cases, above) the fast tracks. The song flows seamlessly into the interlude where it the situation has worked itself around and now the cheating girl is being cheated on herself and the song aptly moves the tempo up a notch and Timbaland takes over the chorus over an ominous choir and Timberlake's taunts. In this case the song and interlude are clearly one and work together to create a brilliant, verging on epic, moment on the album.
7. Chop Me Up (featuring Three Six Mafia and Timbaland) 5:04 B
...And we're back in the club. Here Justin's joined by everyone's (or at least Paris Hilton's) favourite Oscar winners. The chorus with Timbaland ending each line up with his voice slowed down is all kinds of awesome and it actually namedrops Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives -which, you know, is something. The song works best when it's grimiest and dirtiest- a mode that Three 6 Mafia often work well in. It takes a little while to settle into itself but when it does it can trump most anything on the radio.
8. Damn Girl (featuring Will.I.Am) 5:12 B +
One of the few tracks on the album not produced by Timbaland, here Will.I.Am takes the reigns and the change is obvious. Gone is the tight, dark and sexy production, instead replaced with a more buoyant and colourful sound. The song works thanks to the space Will.I.Am gives to the production and the hook does make you want to sing along. Of course Will has to fuck it up by doing a guest verse which almost takes down the whole thing-luckily its a short one. Anyone else feel the similarity to 'Touch the Sky' by Kanye West?
9. Summer Love/Set the Mood Prelude 6: 24 C/C+
Summer Love is one of the of the few filler tracks on the album. At best, it can get you moving and is catchy. At worst, its uninspired and a little insipid. The handclaps and synths work well on the verse, as does the chorus, but again none of this is particularly new or interesting resulting in a rather dull track. 'Set the Mood' is a good track and does its job in setting us up for the shift in mood for the remainder of the album- not much else.
10. Until the End of Time (featuring the Benjamin Wright Orchestra) 5:22 C+
It has to say something for an album, when I don't want to shoot myself the moment everything gets gooey and romantic. 'Until the End of Time' doesn't tread new territory but it is completely inoffensive. The hook works well and Timbaland's production is languid and calming. The call and response at the bridge also helps to undercut the somber tone and by the song where three or four Justin's sing one last line, it's actually managed to sneak under your skin.
11. Losing My Way 5:22 A-
This song is quite possibly the testament to the album's success. Here Justin does what every pop star has done at one time or another- the song where the heart bleeds for those less fortunate. You know it- its the 'Another Day in Paradise' or 'Heal the World' of the album and somehow--somehow it doesn't make you want to vomit all over everything you own. The lyrics are heinous ("Hi my name is Bob/And I work at my job/I make 40 dollars a day" "Now I got a problem with that little white rock/See I can't put down the pipe") but Timberlake manages to sell it in his delivery. He's hopelessly earnest and the song never comes across as crass. Timbaland is the song's real hero, for he is the genius that decided to take this track and play it over a loop of him humming, drums and strings. Creating possibly the most sexy 'save the world' track ever. Towards the end of the song the choir jumps in and starts singing the chorus- which should be the point where you go to the bathroom and lean over the toilet. But Timbaland's got you hooked and by the time the choir kicks in, you're singing along like a fucking idiot...and enjoying it all the while.
12. (Another Song) All Over Again 5:49 C
Not too sure about this but I believe this is produced by Rick Rubin. The minimalist production is nice and the song itself is pleasant but it's a whimper of an end for a firecracker of an album.
Overall, the album is far from perfect and, indeed its position on my list has quite a bit to do with a rather disappointing year for long players, but it is certainly worthy of high praise. Timberlake is an ambitious artist and while FutureSex/LoveSounds doesn't reach its full potential, it gets pretty damn close and is proof that he has much more to offer as an artist. Also mark one more down for the Timbo comeback.
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