Freed from the PG-13 shackles of Boy Band Land since his 2002 solo debut, Justin Timberlake has fashioned a sound that straddles the playful and the risqué, often within the same lyric.

In his second solo effort, FutureSex/LoveSounds, he takes his pop/hip-hop/R&B hybrid style to its breaking point, creating an album that thumps and vibrates with a kind of mind-altering abandon he’s been hiding up his sleeve these past few years. And it’s a star-studded affair, featuring the producing talents of — among others — Timbaland and Rick Rubin and the voices of Three 6 Mafia and Will.i.Am.

With so many cooks in the kitchen, the results are often dazzling, sometimes disorienting and occasionally disappointing. Several of the 12 songs push past the 5-minute mark, veering from Stevie Wonder-inspired vocal gymnastics to street-stoop improvisation, all backed by Timberlake’s gleefully goofy lyrics.

But FutureSex has many times the ambition of Justified, Timberlake’s first album, and that’s what makes it a compelling listen even when it stumbles. Take the polarizing summer single “SexyBack,” a repetitive song with little structure that doesn’t know when to stop, all centered on a ridiculous declaration. Somehow, it works.

While sometimes hit-or-miss, that same ambition produces inarguably solid results, especially when Timberlake uses shifting musical styles to alter the tone of his songs. “Love Stoned: I Think She Knows,” a song about the drug-like effect of a woman, begins with catchy vocal bass and slowly layers in a string section that eventually turns the initial throwaway line, “I think that she knows,” into a poignant moment of clarity. “Losing My Way” falters early on by telling a hokey rise-and-fall story about drugs but recovers magnificently with a plea — “Can anybody out there hear me?” — lifted to the rafters by a choir.

Of course, pleas for redemption aren’t Timberlake’s strong suit — addictive club confections are — and he won’t need to offer any as long as his sound keeps its trademark naughty-but-nice edge. Here, Timberlake comes close to overload, but considering the endless nuances of the music behind his sharp, clear vocals, I think that he knows.