"Must be my future sex love sound and when it goes down, baby, you know we gotta do it." - Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSound
Nothing about FutureSex/LoveSounds is conventional. In today's, and really in all, pop culture landscapes, none of this makes sense. The songs are too long. The production is literally futuristic sounding while also, somehow, conveying a kind of 80s synth pop aesthetic. Justin sparingly utilizes his trademark falsetto and rarely shows off his vocal range without good reason.
Yet it all works from beginning to end and to spectacular effect.
I'm not going to break down the album track by track as I'm sure it will be discussed ad nauseum until Grammy season and beyond but this is a grand concept record in the tradition of Prince's 80s albums. Timberlake isn't near the virtuoso that Prince is nor is he nearly as weird, so this doesn't reach the level of any of those albums but in the desolate pop waters of 2006, what JT, Timberland and will.i.am do here is leaps and bounds ahead of everything else.
Every track weaves together perfectly. Songs sound better in the context of the album than they do alone (I even like SexyBack when played as part of the full package) and these 7 minute tracks that meld together two completely different songs in order to tell one story are outstanding.
Even more than Justified (which I also loved), I can imagine myself coming back to this album years from now and still finding it fresh and interesting.
In a world of disposable media, that's saying something.
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