Justin Timberlake (seen in New Orleans in February) has an undeniable maturity on “The 20/20 Experience.” (Getty Images)album review
Justin Timberlake’s unfettered, confident new album
The pop heartthrob has made his mark in the worlds of film, TV, and fashion. Now he’s back in a suit and tie, with his first album in years
Justin Timberlake (seen in New Orleans in February) has an undeniable maturity on “The 20/20 Experience.” (Getty Images)By James Reed
Globe Staff /
March 14, 2013
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“Blue Ocean Floor,” the album’s closer, could have been lifted straight off Kanye West’s “808s & Heartbreak.” Over a stuttering electronic sample, Timberlake luxuriates in an unvarnished croon that mines the silkier shades of his voice. It trails off into a gurgle, subsumed in water. The JT of 2006 would never have ended a song, much less an album, like that.
And that gets to the heart of “The 20/20 Experience.” It is not groundbreaking — we’ve heard all these sounds and moods before — but it signals a bold move for the artist who made it. It marks the convergence of all his talents into one singular entity: Justin Timberlake, renaissance man.
James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com.
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