Justin Timberlake
Comeback album without highlights
After more than five years, Justin Timberlake is finally back with new music
© Charlotte Rutherford/Sony Music
Justin Timberlake returns with his new album “Everything I Thought I Was” and raises hopes of a *NSYNC reunion.
Timberlake’s (43) last musical sign of life “Man of the Woods” received only moderately enthusiastic reviews from music critics after its release in 2018 and also sold significantly worse than his first solo albums “Justified” or “Future Sex/Love Sounds “. The expectations for the new work, which Timberlake had already teased in advance with the release of the mid-tempo singles “Selfish” and “Drown”, were all the greater.
Song with *NSYNC raises reunion hopes
Further attention was drawn to the new musical product by the information that it also contained a joint song by Timberlake with his boy band formation *NSYNC. This almost automatically led to speculation about a possible reunion of the officially still existing band, which many fans have been hoping for since 2002.
He worked on “Everything I Thought I Was” for four long years, Timberlake revealed in advance during appearances on various talk shows. Together with several producers, he developed almost 100 songs, of which only the 18 best ultimately made it onto the album. A statement that is a little surprising when you first hear the comeback work that is so promisingly touted. Unfortunately, Justin Timberlake did not achieve a really great success with his new record, which would have consoled the already rather uninspired previous album and catapulted the singer back to previous heights.
Comeback album without any big surprises
Even more than on the last album, “Everything I Thought I Was” lacks real hits and melodies that immediately captivate the listener. As usual, Timberlake presents a completely perfectly produced mixture of R’n’B and non-committal dance-pop, whose individual components, however, babble along strangely weakly without combining to form an overall musical narrative.
Some of the tracks, such as “No Angels” or “Infinity Sex”, start promisingly, but never build to a real climax. Compared to previous albums, you won’t find real dance tracks, groovy-elegant disco-funk numbers, which Timberlake has mastered, on “Everything I Thought I Was”. Musically, the album doesn’t develop any grand visions, but rather sounds like a summary of everything Timberlake has done so far – including his beginnings with *NSYNC.
This also applies not least to the solo entertainer’s eagerly awaited joint song with his old boy band formation. This sounds like the decisive starting signal for an imminent *NSYNC reunion lightweight love ballad “Paradise” but unfortunately not.