MUSIC REVIEWS

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/Lovesounds

If Justin Timberlake ever wrote us a symphony (as he proposes to his love interest in the first line of the album’s standout track, My Love), Timberland had better be wearing a white glove, holding the baton, and conducting the orchestra. JT and Tim reached R&B/pop Utopia the last time their respective dexterities fused on Cry Me A River (could anyone with a pulse think that song sucked?), and, on My Love, they once again returned to that musical paradise...For my taste, JT doesn’t do enough Jack-o impressions on this album, but despite that minor flaw, Futuresex/Lovesound is certainly Worthlisteningto /Overandoveragain. He absolutely kills the ballad (Another Song) All Over Again, and though I’m not personally fond of the first single Sexyback because it fails to display Timberlake’s brilliant vocals (and Tim could’ve made the same song with Carl Lewis), the track (and the several others like it) will certainly be responsible for a litany of dance-club-related pelvic injuries. In context, 3.75 out of 5.


Standout tracks: My Love, (Another Song) All Over Again, Damn Girl





The Killers -Sam's Town




Everyone (that cared) braced themselves for the manifestly obvious transition the Killers were going to unleash as follow up to their immensely successful debut, Hot Fuss. The writing was drawn on the wall in hot magenta crayon when rumors began swirling that Sam’s Town endeavored to become “Born to Run” part duex. This revelation, most strikingly, meant that the Killers might be tampering with the New Wave, synth pop formula that catapulted them to stardom two years ago...Although Sam’s Town has received mixed reviews (and by mixed, I mean it pissed some people off – see Rob Sheffield’s Rolling Stone blasting), it doesn’t deviate from Hot Fuss to the point that the band’s identity is lost. Simply put, The Killers are still capable of making the big hits (When you were Young is CLASSIC) and providing that same craveable jolt of adrenaline (see For Reasons Unknown). With that said, they may have pushed the Springsteen man-crush a little too far (haven’t we all though?) on tracks like This River is Wild (What a terrible song name – makes me think of Kevin Bacon – which, in turn, makes me think of him in his underwear playing grab-ass with Michael Jordan on a Hanes commercial). Its almost as if they tried to capture Springsteen’s entire career in one song with references to a RIVER, a hopeless town, a transition to a Born-to-Run/Jungleland-style piano, and circus imagery, followed by the topper -- a reference to “Mary” (although out of context). Brandon Flowers’ vocals sound polished (even resembling a young Bono in some places), and, at times, they even contain an aura of spirited audacity amidst a backdrop of Springsteen-esque hopelessness. The question that I pose is this: Was this spirit of urgency (ala “My car’s out back if you’re ready to take that long walk”) actually any different from that on Hot Fuss? Or is Sam’s Town critiqued differently because it is heard through more expectation-rich and skeptical ears? Solid Second Effort. 3.5 out of 5.