Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience Part 2 of 2

Timberlake came back to finish what he started. Described as the more "experienced...older sister" to Part 1 released in March, the masses have been blessed with a total of 12 tracks from Timba & Timbo's second 2013 outing. 

Is it really a blessing though? Well, yes and no. Not so much of a sequel as it is another half of the same album, 'Part 2' once again features Timbaland as its main producer. His role is as prominent on both albums as Justin's is. You can hear some of the greatest production and melodies of the year on both parts for sure. The grand symphonic sounds are back ('You Got It On', 'Amnesia') as well as Timberlake riding the beat under Timbaland's bassy beatboxing ('TKO', 'True Blood' and once again...'Amnesia'). But what the two bring to this time around is the mainstream radio sound taking prevalence on ‘Drink You Away’ and ‘Not A Bad Thing’. This I don't love as much.

Justin proclaimed that the previous disc was music made for the summer, while the later is for the bleaker autumn/winter - which I don't really understand. There is nothing as icy or aloof as 'Blue Ocean Floor' from part one, and save for Justin dropping a few f-bombs it's in no way colder or more appropriate for the darker months. 

Justin’s voice is just as perfect as ever, and Timbaland once again crafts (or reserves) his best work for the former mouseketeer. But save for four of the albums tracks (‘Amnesia’, ‘Murder’, ‘True Blood’ and 'Cabaret'), the two fail to deliver a stellar conclusion to what kicked off at the beginning of the year. In all honesty it's best to just stick to those four, especially 'Cabaret'. With an amazing feature from Drake and cheeky lyrics such as "if sex is a contest then you're coming first" and "I got you saying Jesus so much it's like we're laying in a manger" it's instantly one of the best songs from either of Timberlake's 'Experience' pieces.

A-

Key Tracks: True Blood, Cabaret, Murder, Amnesia