of mix, "so the singer and the music are equal partners." The outro features vocals from Jessica Biel. The song was written in the key of A-flat Minor, with Timberlake's vocals spanning from Eb3 to Ab4. Critical reception The Guardian journalist Ben Beaumont-Thomas gave the song five-out-of-five stars, and said in his review, "On the basis of Filthy, he absolutely can. Beginning with some bombastic guitar rock, it transmogrifies into a beautifully dark, undulating funk track underpinned by a whiplash bass womp". He described the song as a "grownup funk masterpiece," and added "the chorus, which modulates into a sweeter, smoother key, is signature Timberlake." In XXL, C. Vernon Coleman II stated the production provides a "fitting soundscape for the single, as they deploy out of this world synths with pulsating 808s." In NME, Larry Barleet reacted positively, stating "Timberlake pulls it off," and adding "what's really brilliant about 'Filthy' is that it's proof that JT isn't done with innovating." Also from NME, Nick Reily described the track as "futuristic". Rap-Up opined the "dance-ready" track finds the team experimenting with "a new futuristic sound." Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone said it is "hard" to call the song pop "since the production is so avant-garde." He further commented the producers Timbaland and Danja "conjure a testosterone electronic chainsaw grind and match it with vintage Larry Graham-style slap bass: The fact that the two musical elements don't exactly match groovewise creates a beautiful and disorienting tension unlike anything on the radio." Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic described it as a "suitably robotic, an electro-funk sex jam." Chris Willman of Variety thought the single and visuals in the context of the album may represent Timberlake's former self "albeit one who's clearly still capable of coming to the phone, still getting his sexy-back kicks in before the muse draws him into a more reflective forest." In Billboard, Katie Atkinson ranked it 11 among all Timberlake's singles, and felt "the funky Timbaland beat and tongue-in-cheek lyrics were a welcome, loose surprise." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times opined it is an "unimaginative but slyly effective electro-funk vamp with acid house accents... It's cyclical and deliberate, like late-1970s big-band soul music." In The Ringer, Lindsay Zoladz opined it "sounds like a new-millennium update of David Bowie's "Fame." Bryan Rolli of The Daily Dot said the song "sounds right at home next to other