Justin Timberlake (AFP file photo)

HEAR IT

Justin Timberlake
The 20/20 Experience

With JT, it’s all about the vision thing. To wit: Some may see him as just an ex-boy bander who makes dance-pop. But with his third album — and first in seven years — Timberlake has set his sights on something greater. And weirder. The 20/20 Experience isn’t pop-chart fluff that panders to short-attention-span ’tweens; it’s an ambitious, challenging and just plain freaky trip into a musical looking-glass. Tracks average seven minutes in length; tempos and grooves flow glacially; some cuts are hypnotic vamps while others turn on a dime; Timbaland’s production fuses neo-soul and R&B with psychedelic swirls and fuzzy textures; the prevailing mood is exquisitely stoned euphoria. Bottom line: This is not your little sister’s JT album. And years from now, it will likely be seen — with 20/20 hindsight, natch — either as a musical landmark or a self-indulgent disaster. For now, crank the headphones, fire up the lava lamp and let the groove get in.

RATING: 4 (out of 5)

SKIP IT

Bon Jovi
What About Now

So what about it? From that title, you might think the Jersey boys are changing their tune — or at least trying to stay current. But you’d be wrong; their dozenth disc is basically biz as usual. You’ve got the same fist-pumping heartland rockers and stadium-sized anthems; the same swelling, string-sweetened ballads and rootsy, down-home intimacy; the same daily-affirmation pablum about living until you die; and the same crowd-pleasing hokum about how Jon feels the plight of the working man. Granted, there are more orchestras and fewer fiddles and talk-box guitar licks this time. Still, for the most part, Bon Jovi now is pretty much the same as Bon Jovi then — or anytime.

RATING: 2.5 (out of 5)

ALBUMS

Suede
Bloodsports

And then there were three. Like MBV and Bowie, the Britpop pioneers (minus guitarist Bernard Butler) are back — and judging by Brett Anderson’s darkly desperate yowl and the band’s wiry propulsion and ’70s-style glam, they truly are out for blood on their first disc in a decade.

RATING: 4 (out of 5)

Devendra Banhart
Mala

Neo-hippie Banhart has always been in touch with his inner freak. But the singer-songwriter’s eighth CD goes even further inward, with 14 trippy, Beckish doses of low-impact psyche-folk defined by his freewheeling musicality and darkly subtle, self-deprecating wit. Light the incense.

RATING: 4 (out of 5)

The Replacements
Songs for Slim

Charity begins at home. So, to pass the hat for ailing guitarist Slim Dunlap, ’Mats members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson reunited after 23 years and bashed out this EP of suitably scrappy covers. Estranged drummer Chris Mars pitched in a solo track. I’ll buy.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Specter at the Feast

Blacker than ever. With good reason. These noisy San Franciscans spend much of their seventh disc brooding over the death of bassist Robert Been’s dad — but thankfully, they offer enough cathartic garage-rockers to exorcise the demons and remind you life goes on.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Bilal
A Love Surreal

Yes, the title is a Coltrane reference. And yes, there’s some jazz on Bilal’s third release. But the sublime neo-soul crooner also cunningly draws upon everyone from Prince to Steely Dan on this trippy, mellow song cycle about love found, lost and regained. Superb.

RATING: 4 (out of 5)

Stereophonics
Graffiti on the Train

Keep Calm and Carry On was their last album title; it fits better this time. The Britrockers’ first disc since their drummer’s death is understandably introspective, substituting moody ballads and orchestral sweep for their usual rousing anthems. Hope it helps.

RATING: 3 (out of 5)

Boz Scaggs
Memphis

It’s a city with a sound. And Scaggs pays tribute to both. Cut at Royal Studio, his first disc in five years boasts southern-soul classics, along with dashes of juke joint blues, New Orleans jazz and more — all rendered in Boz’s trumpet-like tones. Don’t miss the boat.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Marnie Stern
Chronicles of Marnia

Once upon a time, Stern was content to wow us with Van Halenesque fretboard prestidigitation and witchy Sleater-Kinney punk. But with her fourth disc, the New Yorker stresses quality over quantity with poppier melodies and sharper songwriting. A happy ending.

RATING: 4 (out of 5)

Low
The Invisible Way

Invisible yet instantly familiar. The Duluth trio — and producer Jeff Tweedy — stay the course with their 10th album in 20 years, presenting another slate of candlelit, quietly intense folk-rock. More female vocals and piano than usual, but otherwise right on track.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Ashley Monroe
Like a Rose

She’s a Pistol. And a straight shooter. Pistol Annies member Monroe hits the mark with her sophomore outing, firing off twangy honky-tonk ditties about crime sprees, kinky sex and the morning after — tempered with a few ballads of love and heartache. Bull’s-eye.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Popstrangers
Antipodes

They come from a land Down Under. But this brash young Kiwi power trio doesn’t come bearing Kookaburra melodies and Vegemite smiles — these noise-pop outbursts and guitar squalls smell like the teen spirit of Nirvana, Pixies and MBV. Better take cover.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Luke Bryan
Spring Break … Here to Party

It’s a concept album — and a compilation. Personable country-rocker Bryan bundles 14 songs from his annual Spring Break EPs, creating a sunny, party-hearty soundtrack for hanging out on the beach all day and doing shots in the sports bar at night. No fake ID required.

RATING: 3 (out of 5)

Iceage
You’re Nothing

You may be nothing, but they are something. The Danish post-punks return bearing a sophomore album packed with even more wiry guitars, dark propulsion and full-throated bellowing. With a dozen explosive songs in 28 minutes, this is short, sharp and anything but sweet.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

COLUMN

Shamrock ’n’ roll

If the beer is green, the lunch special is haggis and everyone sounds like the Lucky Charms leprechaun, it must be St. Patrick’s Day.
And while you’re stocking up on Guinness, Jameson and your favourite hangover cure, why not stock up on some appropriately Irish sounds? Here are a few suggestions — both traditional and contemporary — to get you started. Cheers.

The Pogues | Streams of Whiskey
Dropkick Murphys | Kiss Me I’m S***faced Boomtown Rats | The Great Song of Indifference Sinead O’Connor | Molly Malone
U2 | Sunday, Bloody Sunday Van Morrison & The Chieftains | Irish Heartbeat Thin Lizzy | Whiskey in the Jar House of Pain | Shamrocks & Shenanigans The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem | Beer Beer Beer Horslips | King of the Fairies The Dubliners | Seven Drunken Nights Flogging Molly | Salty Dog The Real McKenzies | Drink Some More The Irish Rovers | The Unicorn Great Big Sea | Drunken Sailor Black 47 | Danny Boy

SINGLES

Iggy & The Stooges
Burn

Raw power, baby, can’t be beat. And Iggy Pop, guitarist James Williamson and the rest of the reconstituted Stooges possess plenty of it on this fittingly fiery single from their April 30 album Ready to Die. Fingers crossed that it’s a step up from 2007’s disappointment The Weirdness.

RATING: 3 (out of 5)

Flaming Lips
Look … The Sun is Rising

I sense a theme here. The first glimpse we got of the Okie oddballs’ April 2 album The Terror was the sugary pop-rock nugget Sun Blows Up Today. Now we have this misleadingly titled followup, which is less a soothing observation and more of a clanky, pulsing psyche-pop noisefest.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

Drake
5AM in Toronto

This is more like it. Drizzy follows up the drippy Started From the Bottom with this more aggressive cut from his upcoming third album Nothing Was the Same. “I’m trying to win here again,” he says over ping-ponging synth arpeggios and a boom-boom-bap beat. About time.

RATING: 3.5 (out of 5)

DVDs

Ike & Tina Turner
On the Road 1971-72

On, off & everywhere else. Rock photog Bob Gruen’s vintage videos follow Ike and Tina from stage to studio and even to the kitchen, providing a fully rounded portrait of the pair at their peak. Sure, most of the 80-minute DVD is in grainy B&W. But what’s quality got to do with it?

RATING: 3 (out of 5)

IN THE PIPELINE

MARCH 26

Crystal Bowersox
All That for This

Depeche Mode
Delta Machine

Alan Jackson
Precious Memories Volume II

OneRepublic
Native

Sevendust   
Black Out the Sun

Blake Shelton
Based on a True Story …

Stephen Stills
Carry On

The Strokes
Comedown Machine

Stryper
Second Coming

Suicidal Tendencies   
13

Wavves
Afraid of Heights

will.i.am
#willpower

Wire
Change Becomes Us