Pop music is a tricky breed. Tricky as in deceptive, yet catchy and enjoyable. Made deceptive by its all too formulaic structure which seems to have gone on repeating itself through the boy bands, the Britney Spears’s, the Christina Aguilera’s and Nelly’s of years past and present. This monotonous pattern does work to the benefit of those who can find a way to step to their own beat and walk an uncharted or at least more interesting path than the rest of the herd. Fortunately for the world, after NSYNC split-up and freed the world of one more boy band (not that I wasn’t a shameless fan myself), the most notable voice from the group, Justin Timberlake, started jogging down that road less traveled, musically.

On his debut solo album, Justified, he proved that he knew what sounded good together and could release songs that could hit you in the feels, whether in the club or bedroom and likely be just as good in 50 years, as they were the day they came out. The production side of things, handled majorly by The Neptunes, provided the stable, edgy platform that pushed Timberlake in the direction of a standout, standalone artist.

After reaching pop-icon status thanks to a couple of juggernaut tracks on an overall decent first outing, he could either follow that formula for likely future commercial success or try to achieve something greater. When Future Sex/Love Sounds was released in 2006, it was made clear that he had gravitated toward the latter of the two paths. Not only did the album have exactly what it took to push him past that barrier every other pop artist seemed to be stuck behind, but it gave us something we didn’t even know we wanted. Staying true to the first word in the album title, the overall sound – this time provided by the creative guru, Timbaland, was edgy, funky, synthetic and incredibly original. The album would’ve been effective in its own right without any vocals at all Thankfully though, Timberlake’s creative vocalization and crafty use of falsettos brought it all together, creating a cohesive package capable of turning the singer into the guy every man wanted to be and the one every girl fell in love with (seriously, even my mom still listens to this album).

The album opens with ‘Future Sex/Love Sound’ and all parts are accounted for. A synthesized low slow riff glides during the chorus and is lifted up with chimed electronic sounds during the hook. All the while, Justin lays out his seductive blueprint aimed at a woman he has captured with his new, future sex sound. Though far from the best offering on the album, it beautifully sets up the rest of the album which actually ends up providing something of a narrative based around Timberlake’s encounters with love and loss.

Next we are hit with the choppy, chaotic sound of ‘Sexy Back’ which became the album’s biggest hit. The song doesn’t do much other than provide another club song but the production is what put it there. The next four songs divulge into that loose-narrative I brought up earlier. They are a bound together by a combination of preludes, interludes and medleys. It starts with Justin taking in all the prospective beauties around him in the club and his thoughts gradually venture into the territory of love and he begins to foresee his future with one particular woman he claims is irreplaceable. The beat follows synthesized-suit and even throws in some beatboxing which work wonders as a percussive element.

Justin gets ‘Love Stoned’ and thinks the subject of his lustful affection knows that he wants her. The beatboxing continues from the last song in a modified form along with guitars and high-pitched violins that amp up the intensity which wonderfully supplement the “real life” feeling of getting noticed by the person you’ve had your eye on. Though there are undoubtedly some timeline issues, the last of these four songs, ‘What Goes Around/Comes Back Around’, skips ahead and has Justin reflecting on a relationship’s closing as the woman he fell in love with and was ready to marry, up and left him for another man. He explains how blinding love can be to what is really going on, but fear not, for karma will prevail! It is definitely one of Timberlake’s most vocally expressive and challenging songs and discredits any possible remainder of outliers who don’t think this man can sing his ass off.

The remainder of the album has such versatile production that the lines between pop, rap and R&B are efficiently blurred. From speaker-knocking bass to soft finger snaps and almost ethereal string and key orchestral instruments, the pace and mood are set to make us “feel alright” while Timberlake confesses that no matter what the world comes to, as long as he has “the girl” everything will be alright. After taking us through a roller coaster of emotion that pretty accurately depicts the average or even exceptional quest for love and the struggle to maintain it, I think it would be hard to find a single person who can’t relate to some (likely most) of the journey. Even the simple lyrical depiction of one’s night in a club becomes more than just a club song thanks to the groundwork put in by Timbaland’s production and enhanced by the adaptive voice of Timberlake. Future Sex/Love Sounds ultimately ends up as one of the most listenable and relatable musical depictions of love, loss and lust for that one girl and that sought after life of happiness and that someone to share it with.

★★★★☆