Everything I Thought It Was

Justin Timberlake(ジャスティン・ティンバーレイク)通算6作目となる待望のニュー・アルバム『Everything I Thought It Was』

これまで全世界で通算5,400万枚以上のアルバムと6,300万枚以上のシングル・セールスを誇るスーパースター=Justin Timberlake(ジャスティン・ティンバーレイク)の、6年ぶり通算6作目となる待望のニュー・アルバム『Everything I Thought It Was』。
アルバムに先がけてリリースされたシングル「Selfish」は、シンプルなメロディー・ラインと、"スーパースター"を象徴するソウルフルなボーカルが創り出すエモーショナルなサウンドが印象的な楽曲。制作にはジャスティン本人はもちろん、ルイス・ベル(テイラー・スウィフト、ポスト・マローン)、サーカット(マルーン5、ザ・ウィークエンド)やセロン・トーマスなど、豪華プロデュース陣も参加。またシングル・リリースにあわせ、「Selfish」のミュージック・ビデオも公開。スーパースターという側面ではなく、カメラやステージの裏側で垣間見える"素"のジャスティンの姿を描いた同作は、これまでにSZAやティナーシェなどのビデオ作品も手掛けてきたブラッドリー・J・カルダーが監督を務めている。
シングル・リリースに先駆け、先日自身の地元であるアメリカ・テネシー州のメンフィスで一夜限りのライヴを披露しファンを魅了したジャスティン。常に世界からアツい視線が注がれ続ける中リリースされる待望のニュー・アルバム『Everything I Thought It Was』は必聴だ。

In the immediate decade following his boy band peak with *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake was on top of the pop world with the post-Y2K classic Justified and the globe-conquering FutureSex/LoveSounds. The 2010s was a period of diminishing returns, capped by the confusing pivot to rustic themes on Man of the Woods. His big 2024 comeback, Everything I Thought It Was, mostly avoids that downward trend, offering a decent attempt at recapturing his former glory. The emotion and charisma that propelled his solo ascendance is present on the yearning "Drown" and "Flame," which sound like "Cry Me a River"/"What Goes Around…" in the best ways. Plus his voice is still in fine form. Of the highlights, the team of Angel Lopez, Federico Vindver, and Calvin Harris delivers a pair of immediately catchy jams that help remind listeners of how expertly Timberlake can groove: "No Angels" is smooth, funky, and begging for the dancefloor, while "F*ckin Up the Disco" soars with Timberlakes recognizable falsetto and an effortlessly breezy disco sheen. The slinky bass of "Play" is a flashback to the FutureSex/LoveSounds loverman era, when Timberlake delivered some of his best Prince tributes; meanwhile "Infinity Sex" and the wild "My Favorite Drug" are rocket ships of swirling disco-space-funk, with the former so catchy it could possibly convince listeners that JT is still burning up the bedroom. Guests include Fireboy DML ("Fire"), Tobe Nwigwe ("Sanctified"), and *NSYNC on their second reunion single "Paradise" (the first landing on 2023s Trolls Band Together soundtrack). Even though its natural to pine for the quality of his first two solo efforts, its still unfair to expect Timberlake to come close to those heights. In the end, Everything I Thought It Was is better executed than Man of the Woods and on par with The 20/20 Experience. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

In the immediate decade following his boy band peak with *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake was on top of the pop world with the post-Y2K classic Justified and the globe-conquering FutureSex/LoveSounds. The 2010s was a period of diminishing returns, capped by the confusing pivot to rustic themes on Man of the Woods. His big 2024 comeback, Everything I Thought It Was, mostly avoids that downward trend, offering a decent attempt at recapturing his former glory, but lacking enough excitement to be truly memorable. Thats not to say its a complete miss: for every disappointing moment (like the sleepy "Selfish" and the overly long slow jam "Technicolor"), theres a whiff of the emotion and charisma that propelled his solo ascendance, like the yearning "Drown" and "Flame," which sound like "Cry Me a River"/"What Goes Around…" in the best ways. Plus his voice is still in fine form. Of the highlights, the team of Angel Lopez, Federico Vindver, and Calvin Harris delivers a pair of immediately catchy jams that help remind listeners of how expertly Timberlake can groove: "No Angels" is smooth, funky, and begging for the dancefloor, while "F*ckin Up the Disco" soars with Timberlakes recognizable falsetto and an effortlessly breezy disco sheen. The slinky bass of "Play" is a flashback to the FutureSex/LoveSounds loverman era, when Timberlake delivered some of his best Prince tributes; meanwhile "Infinity Sex" and the wild "My Favorite Drug" are rocket ships of swirling disco-space-funk, with the former so catchy it could possibly convince listeners that JT is still burning up the bedroom, as the lyrics stress over and over again. That kind of melodic, dance-friendly fare keeps the album from drifting too far into the ether, but it also makes the stumbles more disappointing. Of the albums missteps, his contemporary hip-hop cadence on the reflective opener "Memphis" is a misguided appropriation that sounds a little forced at this stage of his career, especially considering the defensive, unapologetic bars about past mistakes. "Liar" with Fireboy DML, "Love & War," and "Technicolor" and "Selfish" are just a sampling of the filler that draws out the album, distracting from the best parts by bloating the runtime with same-sounding material that doesnt say much. Most egregiously, Everything I Thought It Was is home to the second *NSYNC reunion single (the first landing on 2023s Trolls Band Together soundtrack). Like that song, "Paradise" is a head-scratching bore from the once-mighty quintet, slowly building to nowhere atop a midtempo beat, generic handclap effects, and lyrics that sounds like they could be from a Coldplay song (but devoid of that bands earnestness and sincerity). Even though its natural to pine for the quality of his first two solo efforts, its still unfair to expect Timberlake to come close to those heights. In the end, Everything I Thought It Was is at least better executed than the uneven Man of the Woods and on par with The 20/20 Experience. Some focus and editing would have really helped because theres a great album buried somewhere in here. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

インシンクの再結集も記憶に新しいなか、実に6年ぶりのアルバムがリリース。ティンバランド&デンジャと組んだ楽曲では『FutureSex/LoveSounds』期のスタイルを思い出させる部分もありつつ、エンジェル・ロペス&フェデリコ・ヴィンドヴァーやルイス・ベル&サーカットによる軽快なダンス・トラックも粒揃いだ。他にもデヴィッド・ボウイ使いのファンクやファイアボールDMLを交えたアマピアノの"Liar"など楽曲のスタイルは想像以上に多彩で、この並びで聴くとやや地味に思えた先行シングル"Selfish"もしみじみメロディアスに響いてくる。加えてインシンクの新曲でダメ押しする特盛な内容が実に楽しい。
bounce (C)大原かおり