Justin Timberlake leaves his days as a boy-band member in the past with the release of his new album, “FutureSex/LoveSounds.”
With help from Timbaland, Timberlake’s sophomore album exceeds expectations and delivers a mix of songs.
“My Love,” featuring T.I., is typical Timberlake material with lyrics like “I can see us holding hands, walking on the beach, our toes in the sand.”
The majority of the songs on the album are dance-pop but it does include ballads such as “All Over Again (Another Song)” and “Until the End of Time.” The tell-it-like-it-is “What Goes Around Comes Around” seems like a follow-up to Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” that was released off of his “Justified” album, with lyrics such as “Should’ve known better when you came around, that you were going to make me cry.”
The one big slipup is presented in “Damn Girl,” featuring Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. It has the tendency to be more annoying than enjoyable, although it barely takes away from the album.
This album shows how Timberlake has matured since the release of his debut album and even more so since his days as a boy-band member. While many were not sure if Timberlake could live up to the expectations set for his sophomore album, the album speaks for itself.
Timberlake has proven that he has what it takes to be the new king of pop and if he continues to produce albums like this one, he may be taking the throne for quite a while.
My Chemical Romance has presented a new sound with the release of their new album, “The Black Parade.”
The album starts off with the sound of a heart monitor beeping and an acoustic guitar slowly making its way in.
The words “Now come one, come all to this tragic affair” are the initial words heard on the first track called “The End.” The first track, which is more of an introductory track, sets the tone for the rest of the album and makes an abrubt fade into the next track titled “Dead!”
MCR has taken a different turn with this album, combining punk-rock with theatrical pop. The lryics on the album tend to be depressing, with a theme centering largely around death.
The band has done many interviews explaining that the album is about a young man dying of cancer in a hospital bed who flashes back on his life at the moment of his death.
The lyrics in the track “Sleep” are disturbing. A tape-recorded voice begins by describing the physical feeling of death. The song continues saying, “So shut your eyes, kiss me goodbye and sleep.”
Ultimately, the album is different from the music that fans of My Chemical Romance have heard from them in the past. Overall, the album was a tad too depressing for my taste. I was not a fan before listening to the album and I am not one now.
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