Moon Boots - "C.Y.S."
The unique style of Chicago producer Moon Boots blends 90's r&b with house and funk in a way that makes for some undeniably fun, blissful tracks. The French Express label member's latest track, "C.Y.S." samples Total's 1995 hit "Can't You See" featuring The Notorious B.I.G., using the soulful vocals to build a killer hook around a smooth deep house tune with infectious chords and a characteristically lively rhythm. Download the track below.



Audion - "Sky (Daniel Avery Remix)"
UK producer Daniel Avery released the stellar, Drone Logic, last year, a lush record that used Detroit Techno influences to create a masterful and hypnotic sound. His remix of Audion's "Sky" is a murky, driving track with powerful percussion and a deep bass line. Listen below and check out the single's appropriately cerebral artwork.



Karma Kid - "Like I'm On Fire (Behling & Simpson)"
Bristol duo Behling & Simpson's smooth house rework of fellow British artist Karma Kid's "Like I'm On Fire" is a more straightforward, club-oriented take on the original. With crisp bass and intense drums, the vocals fade in and out throughout the track driven by a tight hi-hat groove. Listen below.        



Justin Timberlake - "Let The Groove Get In (Alex Burkat's Social Network Edit)" 
Brooklyn based producer Alex Burkat has released tracks for house label 100% Silk and Party/label Mister Saturday Night for which he released his first single "Shower Scene," a track that made its' way onto John Talabot's incredibe DJ Kicks mix last year. The recently shared "Let The Groove Get In" is a sleek edit of the Justin Timberlake track with an impressive breakdown and well crafted vocal hook.



Mix of The Week: Whadafunk & Mario Bee - "Super Wavy"
Brooklyn via Buffalo producer/DJ recently mixed this hip hop mix for New York based clothing company Whadafunk featuring tracks from Eloheeeem, A-N-T, Supra Natural, and SanchMasta. Combing classic boom-bap with ethereal, heady beats, the nearly half-hour mix boasts a talented collection of MC's. Download below and check out the cover artwork from fellow Buffalo ex-pat Witchoria.

This past week, Justin Timberlake released Part 2 (Of 2) of The 20/20 Experience, which might be the year's divisive album of the year. Some people have embraced JT's ambitious effort and his having no qualms with letting songs go upwards of 8 minutes, while others are left cold by the extended running times and beats that lack the punch of those on Future Sex/Love Sounds. But whether you like it or not, you have to admit that for a guy who could very easily rest on his laurels, Timberlake is pretty ambitious.

Before you get the wrong idea, I'm not here to discuss his movie career. I'm sure the dude is a fine actor and all, but I'm more interested in his musical efforts. When thinking of the two discs and 21 tracks that make up The 20/20 Experience, I can't help but wonder what the reaction had been if all of it had been released at once (remember, it was all from the same session). Part of me thinks the reviews would have skewed more positive because we would have been so overwhelmed by Timberlake's massive undertaking that the presence of a few filler tracks wouldn't have bothered us. The other side of me says that we would have seen the filler tracks even more unnecessary. 2.5 hours of music would have been pretty hard to take all at once (think of how people balked at Guns 'N Roses releasing Use Your Illusion I and II simultaneously back in 1991).

But regardless of how we got there, we have a total of 21 new JT tracks, and we'll likely be debating them for years to come. I see The 20/20 Experience being a bit like the musical equivalent of Cloud Atlas, one 2012's most divisive films. Some will praise it for its massive ambition,  others will critique it for failing to reach all of its considerable goals.

In the long run, I the album being viewed in a mostly positive light. We have a few stone cold classics  ("Mirrors," "Pusher Love Girl," "Suit & Tie," "Take Back the Night"), and a few more than will likely be growers ("Don't Hold The Wall" "Give Me What I Don't Know (I Want)"). Sure, there are a few inevitable stinkers ("True Blood" is pretty cheesy, despite catchy chorus), but the overall result is more good than bad, and when it's all said and done, I am really happy to have JT making music again.

Even if you hated The 20/20 Experience, I think we should be grateful Timberlake is back in the game. He could have easily give us an album full of easily digestible songes (and next time, maybe he will), but instead he made the album he wanted to, and while it does have its share of flaws, in the end, he came out with a winner. The 20/20 Experience (both parts) is the one of the strangest pop albums I've ever heard, and I can't wait to see what JT ends up doing next.

The second single from The 20/20 Experience Part 2 Of 2 is reminiscent of a lot of the songs on  Part 1. This means that "TKO" is an extremely catchy R&B tune with a sleek futuristic beat that goes on forever. At a 7:10 running time, this is yet another slice of Prog 'n B from Timberlake, who seems increasingly inclined to stretch the limits of how long a mainstream pop song could or should go.

Much like many of the songs on Part 1, it can be split up into two parts. The first four minutes fit the structure of a normal pop song (albeit with Timberlake's superior songwriting abilities), while the final 2:30 is an experimental excursion that will likely get cut from the radio version. The early portion of the song is yet another easy hit for Timberlake, and it will likely be receiving tons of airplay throughout the fall. As for the 7-minute version, well, if you enjoyed that sort of thing on the first album, you'll like it here as well. But if your biggest beef with that album was that the songs were going on endlessly, this won't solve your problem.

With his comeback year in full swing, one that included a brief and overhyped reunion of 'N Sync at this year's VMAs that seemed to cause every 20-30 something woman in my twitter feed to lose their minds, pop icon Justin Timberlake has announced a massive world tour that will include a stop at the First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo on Sunday, February 22nd. Timberlake's second release of 2013, The 20/20 Experience Part 2, the darker twin to his spring released Part 1, is set to drop on September 30th. Tickets are set to go on sale this Monday at noon. While prices are not yet announced, expect them to be a shit load.

Update: Prices are confirmed $47.50, $97.50, and the always affordable $177.50.

Editor's note: If you missed any of this week's selections, you can check them out here.

James Wild

Album:  Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience

Seven years after Timberlake released his masterpiece, FutureSex/Love Sounds, he has polished his already sterling composing ability. With the release of The 20/20 Experience earlier this year, he met the expectations of his fans and earned respect from the haters. Though highly publicized, the album lives up to the hype, proving to be a composition of songs that help to define Timberlake's catalog. The song "Mirrors," though extremely popular, is one of the most beautiful and meaningful songs I have ever heard.

After six and a half long years, Justin Timberlake answered the prayers of millions last week, when he finally released a new album. So far, The 20/20 Experience has been well received for the most part, with a few hold outs who see the album as either being mediocre, or simply disappointing due to the high expectations surrounding the release. When looking at this, I can't help but wonder if when listening to Timberlake's latest, critic's opinions were affected by the preconceived notions they had about the album going into it.

There were essentially two schools of thought going into this release; one was that Timberlake could do no wrong, and we'd have yet another masterpiece on our hands, while the other was that he'd been away for too long, and the trends in modern music had passed him by, and the album would suffer as a result. it seemed that whatever people went into the album wanting to believe, that's what they got out of it. Take Steven Hyden's review of the album at Grantland. He posits that the album is "halfway between shit and the shit" while also commenting that the album seems like it belongs in the mid 2000s, when Timberlake dropped the immortal FutureSex/Love Sounds. Meanwhile, in Rich Juzwiak's review for Gawker, he posits that the album is "as mediocre as you thought it to be," an opinion that can only be expressed by someone who went into it thinking it would be mediocre.

Pitchfork had nothing but good things to say about Timberlake's latest, giving it at 8.4, along with the coveted Best New Music label. Rolling Stone were fans as well, giving it four stars, while both publications raved about just how ambitious the album was. So, where does this leave us? Well, it's hardly anything new for an album to be polarizing, or for critics to take different things from it, it only intrigues me in this case because of the circumstance. By releasing a 70-minute album with only 10 tracks, it was quite possible that Timberlake was going to bite off more than he could chew. I mean, the guy was basically making a prog-rock album. no word yet on whether he'll form a group called Emerson, Timberlake, and Palmer.

But as the album was announced, the prevailing fear was that JT might not have the magic touch anymore, that after being around for more than a decade, he'd move into the adult contemporary side of things. The release of "Suit & Tie" as the lead singer seemed to go along with this theory. It was a good song, but it was more about being tasteful than taking us into the futuristic landscapes of "SexyBack" and "My Love." Of course, if you've listened to the actual album, you know that "Suit & tie" is completely atypical of the sound that makes up this album. Basically, it's a lot like FutureSex/LoveSounds, but a little bit weirder. Songs go on well over seven minutes without any regard for how that might affect their commercial impact, while the mood gets increasingly atmospheric, especially on the sneakily catchy "Strawberry Bubblegum>" It's album that isn't afraid to take any risk.

So, is this the strong album that Pitchfork claims it is, or is it the inevitably disappointing follow-up to a far superior album? I tend to lean towards the first group, since I was pretty much blown away by the risks JT was willing to take here, but then again, that might because I expected the album to be good in the first place. this seems like an album that people will take what they want from. Some expected the come back of the year, while others expected a humiliating let down. Thanks to the magic of confirmation bias, both groups will get what they want.

While at first, it seems like this is an odd pairing for a remix; however, with Four Tet's recent push in the direction of house music and Justin Timberlake's continued ability to turn out solid pop songs, today's remix of "Suit & Tie," is a welcome one. Four Tet keeps Timberlake's vocals, speeds them up,  eliminates Jay-Z's ultimately weak section (let's face it, Jay-Z has been really phoning it in in recent years), and adds a chopped up beat. The result is an excellent meshing of two artists' talents.