Justin Timberlake, "The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2" (RCA Records)
The anticipation that surrounded Justin Timberlake's return to music was intense. It took seven years for him to follow-up the Grammy-winning masterpiece that was "FutureSex/LoveSounds," and when he did in March with "The 20/20 Experience," the pop prince helped fill a void in our musical lives, thanks to his slick R&B sound jelled with dance beats.
Now, we may be getting too much of Timberlake.
"The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2" uses the same formula that's becoming his musical trademark — the trance-inducing grooves and futuristic electronic beats helmed by Timbaland and Timberlake, who co-wrote each song. Unfortunately it doesn't feel new. Like "FutureSex" and the first "20/20" album, the songs on "2 of 2" are long, but they aren't as entertaining or as cohesive as his first effort. Some tracks sound like leftovers from past recording sessions, and — dare we say it — actually drag on.
The album starts on the wrong note with "Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)" and the nine-minute "True Blood," both up-tempo songs that lack that Timberlake-esque spark and swag. The lead single, the disco number "Take Back the Night," might be good for mere mortal pop stars, but compared to Timberlake's own lofty standards, disappoints. A better choice would have been the Drake-assisted "Cabaret," which is smooth and has an addictive hook.
Not all of "2 of 2" should be dismissed: "You Got It On" is soft slow jam — listen and you'll feel like you're on a cloud. And the midtempo "Drink You Away" is the disc's most adventurous offering. It doesn't sound like anything else on the album: It's guitar driven with a strong backbeat, with a raw quality that makes it a bit indescribable — and exhilarating.
The multitalented Timberlake, one of a few who could get away with releasing two albums in a year (we're still mad at One Direction for trying that that), is releasing dense music when most Top 40 listeners have short attention spans. The album runs 74 minutes, and the average song is six minutes.
That's not to say Timberlake shouldn't challenge listeners with his music — he did it magically with the electro-pop flavor of "FutureSex" before dance music made its comeback, and "20/20" did not conform to radio standards either.
But even for those people who can deal with more than 140 characters and three-minute songs — that includes me — "2 of 2" doesn't challenge enough, and we want and expect more from one of music's best all-around entertainers, especially when the original "20/20 Experience" still has more so much more to offer.
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The vibe is much different than that of 2010's "Come Around Sundown." ''Bull" starts a new chapter in the band's narrative. They rushed into "Sundown" in the aftermath of worldwide hits "Use Somebody" and "Sex on Fire." That sudden popularity caused a surprising backlash with their original fan base, which was fervent but small. "Sundown" was recorded as the Followills were trying to sort out what direction they wanted to go, and the album sounds stressed and tired because of it.
"We went somewhere in the middle," Jared Followill said. "They say strike while the iron's hot, and we definitely struck while the iron was hot, but we kind of struck with a wooden hammer, you know? We kind of just didn't go all out."
They took much of a year off, disconnected from the rock 'n' roll grind, and slowly worked their way back into music. They remodeled an old industrial paint warehouse into a recording studio and worked in their own space for the first time.
"Once you start thinking about how much it costs to record a guitar solo, you're already in the wrong head-space," Nathan Followill said.
The lead singer was most enthralled with the new building.
"There are times if you don't want to you don't have to leave, you know?" he said. "I stayed here pretty late most nights."
They took months rather than weeks to make the record. Practical jokes punctuated by the sound of fireworks and good times threatened to take over at one point.
"You know on the back of the comic books when we were kids where you could order any kind of joke trick?" longtime producer Angelo Petraglia asked. "I think that's where they were ordering from. Things were coming in and you'd be like, 'They still make these things?'"
Caleb Followill brought in 10 songs he'd been working on alone at home, something of a change in the band's formula. And Petraglia combed through old work tapes, finding bits and pieces he'd bring to the band's attention, like the "Use Somebody" era sound sketch that turned into "Beautiful War."
"The whole thing was chill actually for those guys," Petraglia said. "I felt like, let's get back in there and be a rock 'n' roll band and get back to it. Things had gotten so big with the band, it was a chance to scale down, get in the clubhouse and kind of have fun and make a rock 'n' roll record."
At the same time, they were falling into a stable pattern at home. Off the road for long stretches, everyone who wasn't married settled down. Everyone has at least one child now except Jared, the band's youngest member.
They also started their own record label, Serpents & Snakes, using it to sign friends; started fine food, wine and spirits festival Music City Eats that debuted over the weekend; and have generally blended into the environs in a way they didn't before. They started the new rock 'n' roll renaissance in Nashville, but were never really around to enjoy it.
"It's so funny, my wife, we've been married four years now, and this past year was the first time I got a chance to be a husband and just be normal, go on double dates and get to be a dad, and I think this past year I've planted more roots in one year than I have in the previous nine or 10 because I've been home so much," Nathan Followill said. "Nashville's great. I love hipster-watching at Whole Foods. One of my favorite things to do on the weekends."