“Let’s hit the floor and cause a scene/ get real wet, if you know what I mean,” Justin Timberlake breathes in falsetto during “(And She Said) Take Me Now.”

Whoa. Did he just say that?

“Just Justin,” as he refers to himself on the neo-“Thriller” track “Like I Love You,” drops his ‘Nnocence on his solo debut, “Justified.”

Timberlake cops classic Michael Jackson throughout the album, especially on “Se¤orita” and “Rock Your Body.”

But other tracks speak to Timberlake’s viability as a solo artist, such as the Timbaland-produced “Right for Me” and “Nothin’ Else” — a Neptunes-produced tune with a melody reminiscent of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black.”

Funky beats from the Neptunes and Timbaland — not to mention subtle guest appearances by Clipse and Janet Jackson — propel Timberlake’s strongest vocal performances to instant dance classics — or they should.

However, Timberlake misses a few steps lyrically.

“You don’t care that you hurt me/ and now I’m half the man that I used to be/ when it was you and me,” Timberlake gushes on “Never Again,” a post-Britney song better left in notebooks filled with eighth-grade poetry.

“Cry Me a River,” another obvious lyrical dig at Spears, falters under lines like “Your bridges were burned/ and now it’s your turn.”

Even when trying to “Rock Your Body,” aspiring pop stars ought to find new ways to talk about grindin’. Timberlake has the tools to succeed on his own — he just needs to get them in sync.

— Christian Dahlager

After four commercially underwhelming shots at major label glory, Welshman David Gray independently recorded “White Ladder,” a record Dave Matthews picked up as the premiere release for his ATO Records. The rest is platinum-selling-pop-radio-chart-topping-Grammy-nominated history.

“White Ladder” was hard to ignore when it finally hit stateside; and deservedly so because Gray is one hell of a songwriter. His sixth release, “A New Day at Midnight” might prove to be just as inescapable.

The beauty of this record lies in the fact that Gray would have been perfectly able to recreate his particular brand of techno-folk that worked the time before. There are elements of that on “A New Day at Midnight,” but this record is a tad more mellow and introspective.

On the piano-driven track “Freedom,” Gray says that “we’re running through a world that’s lost its meaning/ Trying to find a way to love this running ain’t no kind of freedom.”

While parts of Gray’s vocal tone might bear comparison to his mentor/benefactor, his inflection is easily unique. From the first words of this album, you know just who you’re listening to. On “December,” Gray shows a jazzy huskiness as he sings a song to his father, who passed away while this record was being made.

Gray also lets some new instruments creep into the mix on “A New Day at Midnight.” For example, steel guitar (in both pedal and lap form) makes an appearance on “Last boat to America” and “Caroline.”

It’s a shame “Be Mine” is buried so far into the record. At track 10, it’s not likely that most casual listeners will make it to this gem before skipping back to “Dead in the Water” or “Caroline.”

The former bears the most resemblance to anything off “White Ladder” and makes for a good start to this record.

One of mainstream pop’s better singer-songwriters has put out another album that will hopefully only be the beginning.

— Jesse Stensby

After the platinum success of his debut album, “Ghetto Love,” urban crooner Jaheim is back with his sophomore release, titled (surprise!) “Still Ghetto.”

Unfortunately, this album features some shining moments (“Beauty And Thug,”), some so-so singalongs (“Backtight”) and some truly cringe-worthy sapfests (“Tight Jeans”).

“Let’s Talk About It” finds Jaheim reminiscing about growing up in the projects of New Brunswick, N.J. The song features a vintage Bessie Banks sample and is a highlight of the album.

However, any good feelings the listener may have toward this album are dashed with the next track, “Put That Woman First.” The track is based on William Bell’s “I Forgot to Be Your Lover,” a song sampled three times in 2001 alone by Ludacris, Dilated Peoples and Chino XL. It’s hard not to feel insulted as a listener by the overuse of this tired sample.

If every contemporary R&B album has to include at least one pseudo-inspirational ballad, “Still Ghetto” is no exception. “Fabulous,” the album’s first single, should never have been made.

Jaheim has a voice that falls somewhere between Luther Vandross and Otis Redding, but it seems as if his talents are being squandered. Jaheim is obviously proud of his “ghetto” roots, but one has to wonder if his life could offer more than anthems of baby mamas and chromed-out rims.

— Megan Hinds

Argos “Days of Being Wild” (Old Era)

Compare to: Yellow Card, Superdrag, Def Leppard

Rating: 7

Maybe it’s the fact that you can’t pin a title to the music in “Days of Being Wild.” It might be the musicianship or the tight sound. Or it could be the creative songs that move from punk pop to metal.

Whatever it is, it’s an interesting album.

“Ouroboros” starts things off with a simple pop hook from Matt Goode’s guitar, and the band joins with an evolving violin-cello-rock combo jolt. Right from the start, the melodic, rhyming lyrics of the song add a lot to the music.

“You’re a broken record or a scratched CD ’cause you don’t know what a record’s for/ I can’t it take any more; the things you said today, that you’re saying, that you said before/ it’s a vicious cycle like a snake eats its tail from the beginning and it never ends,” vocalist Greg Goode rasps.

Tinges of Mike Park and punkabilly drums shine through in “Rotten Mind.” The heavy metal guitar solo in the middle fits in perfectly, somehow.

KISS-like Guitar riffs are all over the album, and “Super Hero” even hits a Pantera-style note. The rest of the instruments fill the speakers with pop and violin-cello melody.

With only seven songs packed into less than 20 minutes, it would be nice to hear more from Argos.

— Jeff Mitchell