Man of The Woods
| Justin Timberlake
Man of The Woods
Man of the Woods is the fifth studio album by American actor and singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. It was released on February 2, 2018. The production of the album was handled by Timberlake, The Neptunes, Timbaland, Danja, J-Roc, Eric Hudson, and Rob Knox.
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
It’s not perfect, but you can’t raise a barn without getting your hands dirty.
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Highsnobiety
Justin Timberlake’s ‘Man of the Woods’ Is Painfully Bad
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Pitchfork
Justin Timberlake’s fifth album is a huge misstep for the pop star. It is warm, indulgent, inert, and vacuous.
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Consequense of Sound
Justin Timberlake Gets Creative, Twangy, and Downright Stupid on Man of the Woods - A funky, country-laced experiment that’s not nearly as bad as its early reputation suggests
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The Guardian
The good bits are great, the bad bits best avoided, but in a pop world where originality isn’t much encouraged, there’s something really laudable about the intention behind it, and its author’s willingness to think outside the box.
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NME
The funk-pop king has embraced a love of the outdoors and a (kinda) brand-new sound
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Pop Matters
At the peak of his powers, Justin Timberlake could probably get away with a confused backwoods-pop hybrid like this. As it stands, people are seeing it for what it is: the most misguided album of his career.
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Drowned In Sound
Man of the Woods is not an outright disaster but it is a significant disappointment – a record too preoccupied with image, volte face and forced “REAL” to fully engage as a coherent piece of craftsmanship.
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Variety
Contrary to early assumptions, there's nothing too rootsy about Justin Timberlake's decidedly funk-filled "Man of the Woods" after all... unless you count the happy, homey lyrics about his wife and child and their shared flannel.
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Entertainment Weekly
Once an artist who reshaped the contours of the Hot 100, Timberlake now seems content to ride out his own scenic route, as blithe and unknowable as he’s ever been.
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Newsweek
Man of the Woods is a pastiche of rustic stylistic whims that too often stretch the limits of Timberlake's considerable talent.
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Independent
Timberlake isn’t re-inventing the wheel, but he solidly continues to experiment with R&B, funk, pop and soul, with Americana creating an interesting layer.
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Slant Magazine
Timberlake is still infinitely more comfortable with airbrushed blue-eyed soul than he is with anything involving a pedal steel.
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Thrillist Entertainment
Timberlake cast himself as a searcher, someone attempting to find deep meanings, but the actual content of these songs feel shallow.
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Esquire
Man of the Woods is a mess. It’s disappointing. It’s kind of embarrassing.
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AV Club
Unfortunately, Man Of The Woods’ thematic depth hasn’t quite caught up to the rest of his ambition.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
It is an audacious yet deeply flawed document of thens and nexts...
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Los Angeles Times
That's how this Southern misadventure comes across anyway: as a flashy Hollywood depiction full of local color but minus any feeling for the complexity of the place.
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Inquire
Overall, Justin Timberlake’s new album is satisfactory, but rather inconsistent and falling short of being a reinvention.
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star 2
Timberlake not only missteps on Man Of The Woods, he crashes and burns. He’s a singer lost in the woods.
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WSJ
Consider it a slight work with winning moments here and there. For maximum enjoyment, seek and savor the supporting pleasures Mr. Timberlake cooked up with his talented collaborators.
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Clash Magazine
For all its best intentions, ‘Man of the Woods’ often feels rushed, occasionally underproduced and at times, unfinished.
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Stereogum
Timberlake has concocted a woodsy, outdoorsy image-makeover while resisting the idea that he’s made a country album.
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University Observer
This baffling, clumsy rebrand from Timberlake will have you wishing he’d bring sexy back.
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Pretty Much Amazing
With production that is often nondescript, Man of the Woods doesn’t hold a candle to previous albums because the highlights aren’t as colorful or as tuneful as we’ve come to expect from Justin Timberlake.
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The Irish Times
For most of his solo career, Timberlake has delivered the goods but for the third album in a row he’s loitering dangerously close to mediocre when he’s anything but.
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The Creed
JT changed his music past the point of holding his signature style and rhythm. In so many words, Timberlake is confused. He’s caught between his home state, his career, and his future.
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Us Weekly
The highly anticipated disc, advertised in an early promotional trailer as rustic and campfire-ready, is neither Americana nor a reinvention.
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All Music
Man of the Woods is almost as bemusing as its roll out.
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The Daily
It finds the usually effortlessly fun Timberlake being too effortful for his own good. But it certainly isn’t as bad as you might’ve heard.
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Brooklyn Vegan
I don’t think it’s a failure — more a misstep with a few jams — But if most end up disagreeing, at least he struck out swinging.
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Spectrum Culture
Is not merely his worst but quite possibly the worst statement by a major pop star this decade.
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Vulture
Justin Timberlake Sounds Bored on Man of the Woods
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The Spinoff
This is a bad album from someone who will probably never make a good one again.
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RTE
Justin Timberlake may have become too big for his Timberlands on his ambitious but misfiring fourth album.
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Sputnik Music
I'm up in the woods - I'm all outta style
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Refinery29
Some of the musical choices made are a strong argument for people who don't authentically live a country music lifestyle to stay in their own lane.
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axs
Timberlake covers new ground on Man on the Woods and emerges from the experience as an artist striving to push pop boundaries.
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The Pitt News
Timberlake tanks crossover in “Man of the Woods”
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The Signal
The album is a decent step in Timberlake’s career but begs the question for whether the President of Pop has truly reached his peak.
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Daily Beast
The fifth studio album by the pop superstar is being billed as an introspective journey inspired by the outdoors, but it’s mostly a snooze.
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Minnesota Daily
What starts out here as a clear trail toward unbridled debauchery takes a weird turn to become a tangle of cringey genre criss-cross.
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The Times
Justin Timberlake is many things — former Disney Mouseketeer, acclaimed actor, dynamic pop superstar — but man of the woods is not one of them.
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Her Campus
The poor mixing, cheesy lyrics, basic beats and inappropriate experimenting lowered the quality of this collection.
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Music OMH
Too slick to be a genuine man of ‘rough’, Timberlake nevertheless continues to lead the way in his field, even if he does so without consistently reaching the greatness he so clearly strives for.
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Pajiba
If this album is a return to his roots then it seems that Justin Timberlake has no idea where he is anymore.
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ASP
I think the album deserves a listen because it is different from Justin Timberlake’s other albums. However, just because its different doesn’t mean it isn’t successful.
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Watertown Daily Times
Justin Timberlake explores flannel funk
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Daily Journal
Timberlake keeps the fun pop and sultry R&B sounds in this new album, but he sneaks in southern and country guitar sounds.
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The Sentry
If the goal of the album was to honor his heritage and family, Man of the Woods crashes and burns in every possible way.
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The Red & Black
The album isn’t connected like it should be, but it does contain songs that would’ve been best as stand-alone tracks.
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The Guardian USC
Justin Timberlake’s turn to nature is less than inspiring.
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Kent Wired
While it’s not exactly the full country sound that many people expected, this album creates a personal atmosphere that we haven’t seen fully from Timberlake before, and it blends the R&B and pop that we all know JT for unbelievably well with the funk and folk that originates from his southern home.
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The Fraudsters' Alanac
Avoid this designer flannel, because it’s not substantial enough to keep you warm.
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Time Out London
Justin Timberlake is a slightly lost, cringe dilf on 'Man of the Woods'
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Beat
JT found his sound with this album, incorporating new and old music into a well-rounded album.
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Erie Reader
Man of the Woods is certainly flawed, but for better or worse, it's the farthest thing from boring.
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Richer Sounds
The projects dodgy lyrics, messy songwriting and misguided theme may have put off most, but hidden in the mediocrity there are still a handful of catchy, danceable pop songs.
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NZ Herald
Man of the Woods has great production and great vocals, there's just nothing holding those things together.
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Edinborow Now
The album is a postmodern clash between the Backstreet Boys, Michael Jackson and a dash of Keith Urban. Perhaps this is his idea of reinventing his image.
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The Kirkwood Call
This album does have a few gems but overall it isn’t anything outstanding.
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The Pop Break
Though the announcement video Timberlake released last month suggested we’d be getting the Tennessee-born singer in full country mode, listening to MTW is like listening to Timberlake reinvent himself in real time.
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The Statesman
Experimental and genre-defiant, the album represents a new stage in life for the biggest male pop star of this generation.
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Now
The album doesn’t sound phoned in, necessarily, but it absolutely sounds vacuous, vapid and clichéd.
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Campus
Simply put, Justin’s fifth album is a let down. However, it is still evident the singer is incredibly talented and hardworking.
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The Ithacan
This new album takes him a step back with the lack of original, captivating tracks.
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Earbuddy
He hasn’t put out a purely bad album until now. It’s a record that sounds like it took the most amount of effort of all his work while also taking the fewest number of risks.
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Soul In Stereo
The album’s concept is admirable but it’s padded with a lot of filler. Still, you certainly have to give JT credit for his spirit of reinvention.
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Sound Opinions
The hosts give Man of the Woods a double Trash It.
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Headstuff
Justin Timberlake is lost in the woods.
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23MUTV
Where Justin Timberlake has been hiding for 5 years.
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Youngpost
Justin Timberlake’s latest album, Man of the Woods is one only fans would appreciate
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The Young Folks
This time around Timberlake, The Neptunes and Timbaland don’t manage to have their cake or eat it. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t morsels of goodness, crumbs of musical elation, for us to discover here.
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We Plug Good Music
While it has to be said that Man Of The Woods is far from Justin Timberlake’s best work, it’d be unfair to call this project bad, because it differs from the rest, and Timberlake does succeed in trying out some new styles whilst maintaining just enough familiarity to not alienate listeners.
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Vidette
Matching funky country to hip-hop’s bounce, Timberlake explores musical tastes undefined by his preceding persona.
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ACRN
Unfortunately, there are so many vapid musical choices that, no matter how much he tries, Timberlake is just missing the point.
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HMV
The result is an album with all the radio-friendly mass appeal you'd expect from a Justin Timberlake album, but it's somehow more genuine here than ever before.
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Immortal Reviews
Timberlake sounds disconnected from himself in Man Of The Woods, failing to really make the same quality music he's been able to for so long.
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Pure M Magazine
Timberlake made a big bold move with this record; he experimented throughout the entire album but never drifted too far from his roots.
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The Student Playlist
A muddled mess of an album that sounds like a mid-life crisis being committed to record, 'Man Of The Woods' is an incoherent aberration from an artist who should know better.
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The Post
Justin Timberlake wins some and loses some on ‘Man of the Woods’
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Salute
Justin Timberlake showcases inconsistency on Man Of The Woods
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Thomas Bleach
The album fails to successfully blend his rhythmic and full band sound with the country roots he’s trying to implement.
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Tolitas Musings
MOTW is a grower; largely comprised of what would have been very respectable album fillers on a previous project. The vocal arrangements are still deliciously rich.
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The Gaudie
The whole album is laughably silly, from the warbling harmonicas on ‘Midnight Summer Jam’ to the campfire sing-along ‘Flannel’, which frankly deserves no comment at all.
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11 Alive
JT's 'Man of the Woods' fails at Americana-pop
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