New this week: Justin Timberlake, Montgomery Gentry, John Oates, more

Searching for something to listen to this weekend? Yahoo Music has you covered with a rundown of some of this week’s biggest and buzzing releases, from artists including Justin Timberlake, Montgomery Gentry, John Oates, and more. Check back every Friday for a fresh list of albums to help fuel your weekend playlists.

Justin Timberlake: Man of the Woods (RCA). This is JT’s first album since 2013, and it’s been a bit of a confusing trek up to its release. A promo for the album showed Timberlake getting back to nature, running in the woods, swimming in a creek, admiring a pack of galloping horses–but then fans were hit with the distinctly un-rustic “Filthy” as first single. Overall this is a somewhat schizophrenic project combining such fare with the likes of Chris Stapleton duets. On a positive note, it shows his flexibility.

Montgomery Gentry: Here’s to You (Average Joes Entertainment). This album serves as the late Troy Gentry’s final work; it was finished before the 50-year-old singer was killed in a helicopter crash in September 2017. It’s a fine (unofficial) tribute, bringing forth the duo’s much-loved talent for writing down-home topical songs.

John Oates: Arkansas (PS Records/Thirty Tigers). Oates is of course known as one-half of the famous duo Hall & Oates; this Americana-flavored album shows off the latest in his solo catalog and features his Good Road Band, which includes Sam Bush on mandolin, as well as his own production skills.

AWOLNATION: Here Come the Runts (Red Bull). Aaron Bruno, aka AWOLNATION, follows up a three-year hiatus with a third release, and this is arguably the best yet, employing a mix of electronic rock and pop, all iced over with undeniably catchy vibes. Moments on the record even approach stadium-level intensity.

Simple Minds: Walk Between Worlds (BMG Rights Management). The ’80s hitmakers, well-known for pop songs that absolutely feel exactly dated to that era, have progressed into a mature sound somewhat — but not completely — different from that legacy. On their latest, the band shows off a grand, assured, and above all energetic approach to a tight, eight-song track listing.

Saxon: Thunderbolt (Militia Guard/Silver Lining Music). This marks the twenty-second studio album by the metal band, who are nothing if not dedicated to their genre. Although they’ve been at it since the ’70s, the band hasn’t reached the same levels of fame as some of their metal peers, but that happily does not reflect on their output. This is exactly what fans want: Classic British heavy metal, and thank heavens it’s still in supply.

Rae Morris: Someone Out There (Atlantic). On Morris’s second album, she moves from her established relatively safe ground into more daring, even (charmingly) awkward territory. This record vibrates and hums with experimentation.

Kyle Craft: Full Circle Nightmare (Sub Pop). Portland-based singer-songwriter Craft whizzes between glam and dreamy drifting on this retro-tinged album, making it sound like anything but an album recorded in 2018.