Justin Timberlake | Man Of The Woods | Album Review

Record Label: RCA Records
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

After the success of Justin Timberlake’s previous album, he decided to take it back to his southern heritage for his newest album Man of the Woods. The album is exactly that: the vision of the American south from someone who lives in Los Angeles. If the goal of the album was to honor his heritage and family, Man of the Woods crashes and burns in every possible way.

The closest to the southern sound Timberlake was going after is on the track “Say Something.” The song features a gentle acoustic guitar strum for the supporting rhythm, accented by a synthesized drum beat to bring in the modern influences. If a modernized version of country was the goal, this song is the closest Timberlake gets.

The album isn’t complete garbage until it reaches songs like “Filthy.” The single track is a musical mess with obnoxiously off pitch synthesizers screeching horrifically over nonsensical lyrics.

Speaking of bad lyrics, the title track “Man of the Woods” contains the most concerning of them all. At one point, Timberlake whispers in a way that nobody ever wants to be whispered to and says, “So if I take it too far that’s okay because you know / I hear the making up’s fun.”

In an interview before the album’s release, Timberlake said that the album was inspired by his wife and son. Nothing says “I love you” like singing about how apologizing for inappropriate behavior is totally okay.

Man of the Woods tries to create its own new genre of techno country, but the failure of this album shows how nobody has been asking for it.