Justin Timberlake – 20/20 Experience (2 of 2):
No one was surprised to find ten more songs from the newly crowned prince of pop this past week. But when the Roots spoiled the surprise back when part one of two had first come out, it helped quiet the negative backlash Justin was receiving for what some (myself included) were calling a sub-par album. And even though I like a lot of the songs off the first half of the 20/20 experience, I have to admit the critics had some merit. It was a few tracks shy of being fulfilling. Which as we all see makes complete sense. If I had to rate both halves of the album as two separate albums; I would say the first was a step in the right direction, but came up short in terms of completeness, and the second half I would grade as having a great sound, but not really showing much growth. Fortunately for all parties involved, these aren’t two albums released ten years apart. This is, by all measures one whole album released in a gimmicky fashion to capitalize on increased record sales (can’t really blame him, have you seen the record industry lately). And as a whole experience this album is really good. From part 2 you get that nostalgic sound that we missed so much (remember JT hadn’t put an album out in 7 years), and from part 1 you get that more grown up sound you can listen to over a cocktail. Together it’s exactly what I needed from him. And yes I use the word need rather strongly. Quick anecdote that I think I shared before, but in case you missed it. At the time JT had released an album prior to the Experience I was in the midst of the longest tenured relationship of my existence and his album was sort of a soundtrack to that relationship. low and behold it eventually came to an end, as all good things do, and I was left with a personal battle I had taken on. I wasn’t going to lose JT to a relationship. I forced myself to listen to that album nonstop for a week (I even cried on the subway sitting alone one time) in order to disconnect it’s reminiscent effect. In the end it worked. She can have The Feeling: Twelve Stops From Home, but Future, Sex, Love Sounds was mine to keep.
Which brings us to the present. As I already said this album is damn good. From the more dance poppy songs of TKO and Amnesia, to the more rock ballad sound of Only When I Walk Away. It’s a great mix of tempo, melodies, and unsurprisingly great vocals. I will state that this album is far from perfect; I would’ve loved to hear him push a few more boundaries and that I hope this isn’t Justin’s one and done for the next seven years album. I just think it’s a good album to fill a much needed void that was created last time he stepped away.
7.0/10
Lorde – Pure Heroine:
If you’ve been reading this site, then you know I’ve had a huge musical crush on Lorde. Her EP came out about a year ago, and I absolutely loved it. Well the completed version of that work is finally here and honestly it’s awesome. Here’s the thing. Lorde is only 16. I want to say that upfront, as to me she has a lot of influences (Lana Del Rey and Adele to name a few) that she borrows from but it’s to be expected. Young people are impressionable. Ray Charles was known for sounding like every other famous artist out until he finally found his sound (Don’t worry I’m not saying Lorde is Ray Charles). Hell the song Glory And Gore sounds like it could be straight off a Portugal the Man album. But that doesn’t discount that it’s actually quite good. As I listen to this album I realize there’s going to be an obvious backlash. One; she’s positioning herself as almost anti-pop, as in one song she claims she’s “kind of over gettin’ told to throw my hands up in the air.” If you search Lorde you’ll see her very tightly kept image also fits this mold. And while it’s a bit contrived (remember she’s 16) she isn’t really wrong for her stance. Britney came on the scene at 18 and was clearly having her strings pulled to play into the dirty fantasies of old sleazy men everywhere. And after reading the Sinead O’Connor letter to Miley (which I wholeheartedly agree with), I find Lorde’s disposition rather refreshing. Here’s a sixteen year old with no massive online identity, singing about apt stuff to her life. And while you may not get all her complaints, as some of them are just young problems, you can definitely enjoy her much more adult sounding vocals. In a lot of ways she reminds of Paolo Nutini, who’s first hit single at 17 was about New Shoes. His first album was really good, but honestly it was his second album that blew me away. His first had great sound, but his second album had wisdom. And if I had to guess her career arc I’d lean towards it having a similar growth. Look I love an artist like Britney Spears all the same, but when we go to play our songs of yesteryear and wish to enjoy them without the need of nostalgia, I’m more inclined to think that sound is something closer to Adele. And while an artist like Miley makes some great Bangerz, I just think a sound more like Lorde my stand the test of time. This isn’t to say you can only enjoy one or the other, or to pit these two against each other (much like the Girls in Hoodies Podcast on Grantland seem to do) but musical significance is usually a byproduct of how you stand out among your peers. And right now the closest peer to Lorde is Miley Cyrus, and I feel fairly confident whatever comes out of Lorde’s camp next will probably sound infinitely more timeless than anything we’ve heard from Miley yet (Let me reiterate, I love Miley and actually think her album is really good, but when speaking purely in guesstimations as to what I might still be listening to in 10 years, I think Lorde has a better shot at being that).
All in all the album Pure Heroine is really good. It’s 1 hit songs away from being incredible as it does tend to just flow from beginning to end, with no real tempo break up. I think most will enjoy it in their shuffle, and more specifically I think she has a ton of upside. It will probably garner some award buzz as she is only 16 and does a lot of her own work on the music, so she kind of deserves it. But if you’re looking for a perfect accompaniment with that new Drake album I think this is it.
8/10
About Matt Cargile
Matt Cargile is the Editor in Chief of rookerville.com. He also works in finance, but refuses to read any news printed on pink paper. He is a child at heart with adult means. His childhood dream was to either become a magician or the leader of the next great empire and somehow both these things make complete sense. He's contradictory in nature, but is always consistent.
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