Music Lovers, Prepare for Soulful ’20/20 Experience’

Calling all hipsters, punk rockers, folksters… it’s time to swallow your pride. I sympathize with you, I really do. I, too, am always an advocate for the underdog, but there comes a day when you have no choice but to face the music and accept what will surely damage whatever “indie cred” you have generated over the years. Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience is an incredible album. It’s risky, dynamic and enthralling from start to finish. As infuriating as it may be for some of us to accept, Justin Timberlake is surely one of the most talented figures in music.

In all honesty, this is probably the most intelligent slice of music to emerge from the mainstream in a while. The curtain rises and the music begins with theatrical string arrangements before evolving into the simple yet elegant “Pusher Lover Girl.” Timberlake’s vocal prowess is unparalleled as proved by his tendency to break out in falsetto throughout this eight-minute epic. While “Pusher Lover Girl” is a slower reintroduction to JT after a seven-year hiatus from music, it is by no means indicative of the sound of the entire album. The variety of sounds in The 20/20 Experience is impeccable and shows that this album was obviously crafted by somebody who knows what he’s doing. “Tunnel Vision” is urgent and busy, characterized by beat-boxing and interesting electronics, while “Let The Groove In” wears its Latino influence heavily on its sleeve.

But this wide variety of sounds is not all just for show, and this is what sets Justin Timberlake above his contemporaries. “Spaceship Coup” sounds as if it was written in outer space, and “Strawberry Bubblegum” is a lofty dose of sugar in the listener’s veins. While the title of the album suggests that JT wanted to create music that invokes visual images, it’s clear that he has succeeded in crafting songs that utilize all of the senses. Even “Suit and Tie,” the weakest track on the album by leaps and bounds, is laced with eclectic horns, finger-snaps and jangly piano lines.

Timberlake saves the most magnificent tracks for the album’s end. “Mirrors” and “Blue Ocean Floor” are incredible pieces of music and prove that JT is more than a man cashing in on his prior success—no, he actually wants to contribute, to show all of the other mindless pop embarrassments how it’s done. These are honest, soulful and intelligent songs, proven by his eloquent proclamations of love in “Mirrors.” “I don’t wanna lose you now/I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me/the vacancy that sat in my heart/is a space that now you hold/show me how to fight for now/and I’ll tell you, baby, it was easy/comin’ back here to you once I figured it out…/you were right here all along.”

The experience comes to an end awash in the waves of closer “Blue Ocean Floor,” and all the hipsters and punk rockers are forced to sigh and concede. They’ve fallen in love with a mainstream pop album. Let that be a testament to the rare instance of sincerity and creativity in an already massively successful musical figure. Timberlake could have easily released an album characterized by boring chorus-verse-chorus nonsense and sold millions of copies. But he wanted to create and make something that absolutely emanates passion and integrity––something that has all of the makings of a timeless album. If this is what mainstream pop fans are going to be listening to, then maybe there’s hope for the future of the music industry as a whole. I give The 2/20 Experience 19/20 stars.

Jordan Walsh can be reached at jordan.walsh@spartans.ut.edu