Good Weather For Airstrikes

PREFACE: As some of you might be aware, I fucking flip my shit for singles and lament everyday the fact that my family moved me away from London and the vibrant singles market that is so alive in the UK and non-existentent in the US. Thus, I’ve decided to add a singles review feature to the GWFAS feature stable, which will see me reviewing a new single release (domestic or abroad) every day or so and assigning it a score on a ten point scale. While the reviews will be kept primarily to recent releases, I’ll be covering both indie singles and Top 40 jams and will also use this feature as an opportunity to draw attention to older singles that I feel may have gone overlooked and underappreciated.

What better single to start with than with what will most likely become one of the biggest Top 40 singles of the year, the newest from Justin Timberlake, “SexyBack”. While the title might lead one to think that Justin’s simply written an ode to a young woman’s sexy back, this is in fact not the case. Rather, Justin’s just letting us know that he’s bringing sexy back, you know, since we’ve all been so worried about it’s absence (?). I guess Justin’s under the impression that sexy’s been M.I.A. since he left the scene in 2004, and while that’s certainly debatable/not true, the video for this track brings the sexy back in spades.

But all pomp and circumstance aside, how is the actual track? Well… it’s decent. Contrary to what many might think, I do enjoy a good Top 40 single from time to time, and JT’s consistently put out the best of the best, and I’ll be the first to admit that “Cry Me A River” was an absolute jam. Timbaland, who could easily just be sitting back and resting on his laurels after producing the pop hit of the year in “Maneater”, is back with Timberlake again here, but it’s certainly not his best work. In fact, it kind of seems like “Maneater” was so good that Timbaland just rehashed it here, as the foundation of the song sounds like Timbaland merely chopped up that suffocating and all-powerful synth line from “Maneater” and surrounded it by a new drum line and some minor production flourishes. This song has all the makings of a flawless pop hit, and it’s just upsetting as it could have been so much better, but there are other issues abound as well preventing it from reaching it’s full potential.

Timberlake’s made his fortune on the smoothness and elasticity of his voice, so it’s a curious move for his vocals to be processed through a vocoder on this track, though the effect gives his vocals a dirtier and more raw feel that helps to further establish the edgy feel of the track. It’s a well-known fact that Justin has attempted to use his solo career to distance himself from the squeaky-clean image he upheld with *NSYNC, and “SexyBack” is the case-in-point of the edgier, more sexualized persona he’s been trying so hard to establish since 2003, helping to explain the decision to filter his vocals but not necessarily justifying it. The primary issue with the track, however, is that it never really climaxes or hits its peak, rather the chorus, bridge, and verse blend together with neither part sticking out or differentiating itself from the parts before it, lending the song a monotonous and almost plodding feel. Perhaps recognizing this, Timbaland feels the need to inform the listener of what’s coming next with his irritating “Take it to the chorus!” and “Take it to the bridge!” interjections, further preventing the song from reaching it’s full potential. Regardless though, this song will hit #1 and become a dancefloor staple, so any criticism of it is mostly futile, but it’s just a shame to see a track with so much promise succumb to poor production choices and execution.

MP3: “SexyBack” - Justin Timberlake

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 30th, 2006 at 7:32 pm and is filed under Single Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.