JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

The 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2 (RCA)

(out of 4) Turns out that hindsight is 40/40.

After musically resurfacing in the spring with the tepid first volume of The 20/20 Experience, the tandem of golden voice Justin Timberlake and producer Tim “Timbaland” Mosley is hoping to compensate on 2 of 2 by pumping up the adrenalin factor.

But does livening up a sequel with slightly aggressive rock, heavier beats and more pronounced electronic grooves make for a better effort?

It only takes the second song, “True Blood,” for a past mistake to return to haunt the two Tims: a 9and-a-half minute marathon that could have easily been snipped at t he 6: 30 mark. Even though t he subject matter of the 12 songs here is about as flossy as Timberlake’s GQ spread in the CD booklet, what arguably favours 2 of 2 over its predecessor are his lack of concern with retrofitting and some memorable melodies.

The previously explored topics of love, lust, heartbreak and romantic head games are complemented by tighter melodies and choruses, and good ones abound: the sonic slap of “Only When I Walk Away” boasts a can’t-miss chorus that sticks in the craw; “Drink You Away” combines killer, gospel-tinged guitar-and-organ interplay with a clever lyrical reference regarding an alcohol-induced Jack and Jill nursery rhyme couplet. “Cabaret” invites our own Raptors ambassador Drake to throw a couple of choruses about a sexual têteà-tête amidst a melee of scattershot rhythms; “Take Back the Night” finds Timberlake fleshing out old school R&B with appetizing string arrangements, and “Amnesia” offers a hypnotic groove whose only misstep is overextension by about 90 seconds or so. If you overlook producer Timbaland’s inflated kitchen-sink production 2 of 2 provides slightly more nutrition than the first 20/20 Experience. But if JT represents the modernday standard of R&B, a serious reexamination of soul music is in order. N.K.