“This album is really inspired by my son, my wife, my family, but more so than any album I’ve ever written, where I’m from,” Justin Timberlake says, in an effort to describe his forthcoming album, Man of the Woods.
The video in which this is said, is accompanied by clips of Timberlake running, stretching and just being a general woodsman, really. Set to new music, it also features a scene of long-time collaborator Pharrell, perhaps giving a glimpse to the possible success of the record, considering the super-producer’s improbably consistent Midas Touch.
If the visuals and sounds of the announcement video are to be interpreted, then it seems Timberlake is attempting to push the boat out of his regular pop harbour, and in to a slightly more experimental sea of melodic electronica (Justin Vernon/James Blake territory).
The album is due to be released on February 2, with a new song supposedly arriving January 5. Man of the Woods will be Timberlake’s first LP release since 2013’s The 20/20 Experience. It’s shaping up to be the former NSYNC member’s least pop sounding effort to date. His works up until now have been heavily for the mainstream, and while that may still be the case, it seems this new sound could start to reach a different audience.
Timberlake is set to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show a few days after the album release date on February 4. This will be 14 years from his last gig there, where Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction took place, dragging Timberlake in to the headlines alongside her.
After Timberlake’s last single Can’t Stop the Feeling reached number one on the Hot 100 last year, hopes will be high for the success of his newest, and possibly most daring, record yet.
Written By: PJ Kimber (LinkedIn).
He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.
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