At the chance of sounding condescending to somebody with whom I solely have a parasocial relationship, I’m happy with Miley Cyrus. Any time somebody in my neighborhood has dismissed her as, I don’t know, day-old Disney channel bread with a chronically bouncy butt, I’d maintain up my hand, like, STOP! I can’t hear blasphemy.
Regardless of period, and there have been many — Hannah Montana and “Party In The U.S.A.” teen-pop stardom, tongue-wagging Bangerz insurgent, country-pop disciple (on 2017’s Younger Now), spaced-out Wayne Coyne disciple (on 2015’s Dead Petz), ’70s rock revivalist (on 2020’s underrated Plastic Hearts) – I’ve saved one factor in thoughts: Miley can sing. Just witness her dueting “Jolene” with godmother Dolly Parton or any of her Backyard Sessions. While some may view her always-pivoting persona as flighty, I see vary and killer style. (What different mainstream pop star has labored with such an enormous array of in style artists, from Parton to Kathleen Hanna to the Laura Jane Grace to the Flaming Lips to Dua Lipa to Wiz Khalifa and Mike Will Made-It?) Now, on her just-released eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, Miley has traded pastiche and shtick for an sincere self-evaluation.
I didn’t have the Disney Channel rising up, so sadly I by no means related with Hannah Montana. I used to be most likely a little bit outdated for it, anyway. I do bear in mind pondering early defining singles like “Party In The U.S.A.” and “See You Again” had been rather a lot higher than I anticipated them to be; even on document, Miley had a uncommon star-quality confidence that would solely be attributed to rising up with a country-famous dad in Billy Ray Cyrus and a childhood residence that noticed visits from godmother Parton, amongst what I’d assume had been numerous different musicians and inventive varieties.
I used to be, nevertheless, working at MTV the yr Bangerz dropped, and I witnessed the entire subsequent mania surrounding Miley’s shock-pop years. As a part of my job, I needed to doc (weblog) each tongue curl, twerk, ill-advised Robin Thicke grind, scantily clad photograph shoot with a problematic photographer, and utterly nude wrecking-ball swing. For readability, I held/maintain zero judgement round Miley’s undressed years; if I used to be made to put on a purity ring in highschool and lead a squeaky-clean Disney juggernaut, I’d most likely wish to minimize off all my hair and run round bare, too. Like iconic pop shape-shifters Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Madonna, I might really feel I’ve earned the precise to actually pivot. (Though I’d go away Robin Thicke out of the equation. 2013 was a distinct time, I suppose.)
After her eye-popping VMAs efficiency, MTV noticed a spike in rankings — the present drew a complete of 10.1 million viewers, probably additionally helped alongside by a short *NSYNC reunion — and although my crew labored on digital, it felt like your entire firm was popping corks for months afterward. Once the VMAs mania died down and all of us caught up on sleep, the corporate gave us handfuls of mini foam fingers blaring the phrases “We’re #1.” The following yr, rankings sank to eight.3 million, after which 5.03 million viewers in 2015 regardless of Miley serving as host. (For context, VMAs rankings have all the time fluctuated; the present’s most-watched yr was in 2011 with round 12 million viewers, however final yr solely drew about 4 million throughout all networks and streaming.)
Since the huge success and controversy of Miley’s Bangerz second, which gave her her first Hot 100 #1 with “Wrecking Ball” (“We Can’t Stop” got here in at #2), it feels to an extent that she has mirrored the VMAs in attempting to recapture a lightning-in-a-bottle second. None of her follow-up efforts have been outright dangerous or unentertaining. Regardless of the place she goes as an artist, Miley has a real entertainer’s presence, a willingness to experiment, a deal with on quite a few genres (although her curiosity in hip-hop has crossed over into cringey cultural appropriation territory), and a honest enthusiasm round music historical past. Maybe it’s her willingness to plop Joan Jett, Billy Idol, and Stevie Nicks on a rock-reinvention album that makes business deciders dismiss her as little higher than a well-paid covers singer. (In which case, why does Bruno Mars nonetheless get showered in Grammys at each alternative?)
On Endless Summer Vacation, Miley is maskless — there’s no rock star cosplay, glittery distractions, or guerrilla-style nudity. Much of the album tackles her odyssey of a relationship, marriage, and divorce from Liam Hemsworth, whom she met in 2009 once they each starred within the Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Last Song. Nine years later, they lastly married after a collection of begins, stops, engagements, damaged engagements, and reconciliations. In 2019, they divorced, and in January of this yr, Miley launched Endless Summer Vacation lead single “Flowers” on Hemsworth’s thirty third birthday. It shot to #1, the place it has now spent seven weeks.
I admit, I used to be underwhelmed by “Flowers” at first, however (no pun meant) it’s a grower. The music is held aloft by Miley’s powerhouse rasp, which has solely deepened with time, partially resulting from a situation known as Reinke’s edema, which is when vocal cords swell up with gelatinous fluid. (She underwent surgical procedure for the situation in 2019.) A triumphant ode to self-love, “Flowers” takes direct purpose at her ex and the life she anticipated having. “We were good, we were gold/ Kinda dream that can’t be sold/ We were right ’til we weren’t/ Built a home and watched it burn.” (Conflagration is a frequent metaphor in breakup songs, however in Miley’s case, it’s literal: her and Hemsworth’s Malibu residence was destroyed within the Woolsey Fire of 2018.)
“Flowers” is simple listening — neither nice nor horrible. The album even closes with a stripped-down “Flowers” demo, which supplies the only an added layer of poignancy. But Endless Summer Vacation actually will get going with the hovering “Jaded,” which is the album’s finest vocal second by far. Over dissonant synths, Miley howls about an ex’s unhealthy coping mechanisms and feeling guilt round ending the partnership. (“You’re not even willing to look at your part/ You just jump in your car and head down to the bar till you’re blurry/ Don’t know when to stop so you take it too far/ I don’t know where you are and I’m left in the dark till I’m worried/ Oh, and it hurts me.”)
A well-placed Brandi Carlile options on the Americana-tinged “Thousand Miles,” which finds Miley “holding on like a rolling stone” regardless of emotional chaos. Later, piano waltz “You” embraces feeling untethered and giving into hedonism with a rebound relationship. The spoken-word “Handstand,” cowritten by Harmony Korine, is a low level on the album, extra filler than substance — although I do just like the hazy electropop breakdown on its second half.
Speaking of electropop, single “River” is a thrill trip that, to my ears, interpolates Dead Or Alive’s 1985 traditional “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)” on the refrain. Miley sing-speaks once more on the infatuation-themed “River,” and it goes down rather more efficiently than on “Handstand.”
Miley throws a verbal punch on “Muddy Feet,” which options Sia and accuses an ex of dishonest (aka “smelling like perfume that I didn’t purchase”). “You’re coming around/ With your muddy feet/ I’m about to do something about it,” Miley rasps, straightforwardly growling: “Get the fuck outta my house with that shit.”
On “Wildcard,” Miley questions her personal viability as a long-term marriage associate, holding two truths directly. She can love exhausting and loyally (“I want all in/ I want all or nothing”), however that depth isn’t a assure of something everlasting: “I’m a wildcard, ooh/ Forever may never come.”
The coronary heart of Endless Summer Vacation lies inside “Island,” which juggles views. In this new part of life, is Miley “stranded on an island” or has she “landed in paradise”? Newly divorced life can really feel like each eventualities relying on the second. Being alone interprets to freedom the place you are able to do no matter, each time, which feels nice! No one to reply to, nobody to lift an eyebrow once you get a bunch of Amazon packages within the mail . (Not that… I might know something about that.) On the flip facet, being adrift at sea can really feel isolating, too quiet. Then you bear in mind why it feels good to share time, experiences, a seaside picnic, a seaside umbrella — no matter floats your dinghy.
I’ve seen general combined critiques for Endless Summer Vacation, however I unapologetically find it irresistible, and never simply because I can personally relate to a “divorce, babe“-themed album. I’ve all the time liked Miley’s uniquely hoarse vocals, which have solely grown extra weathered over the past decade and a half and thus promote the album’s themes higher than possibly Miley even realized. Its flood of producers — BJ Burton, Jonny Coffer, Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson, Greg Kurstin, Mike Will Made-It, Jay Moon, Maxx Morando, Jesse Shatkin, Max Taylor-Sheppard, Jerome Williams, and Zwiffa — by some means don’t trigger Endless Summer Vacation to sound disoriented.
I like that we are able to see – maybe for the primary time – an unequivocally gifted artist with newfound focus — one who isn’t gazing on the viewers by the haze of molly, marijuana (no judgment!), marriage, or different individuals’s music. Everybody’s obtained to have a look at themselves generally, and Miley proves she’s courageous sufficient to do it on Endless Summer Vacation.
POP TEN
Calvin Harris – “Miracle” (Feat. Ellie Goulding)
Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris?? Are we positive the yr isn’t nonetheless 2013?? *Checks watch* OK, yep, the yr continues to be 2023 and these two made a music collectively! It’s good, too! I’ve all the time most well-liked clubby, electropop “Lights” Goulding, versus pop ballad Goulding, and this thumping bop positively scratches that itch.
PNAU & Khalid – “The Hard Way”
PNAU have discovered a worthy collaborator in Khalid, who infuses this sparkly disco gem with heat and coronary heart.
d4vd – “Worthless”
Yung newcomer d4vd — pronounced “David” — could solely be 17 (effectively, he’ll flip 18 later in March, however nonetheless) however he’s clearly obtained type and a great deal of star energy. The angsty “Worthless” simply melds genres to suit his imaginative and prescient, with a little bit of emo, Y2K retro-rock, and traditional soul. Let’s preserve a detailed eye on d4vd.
Echosmith – “Hindsight”
In some methods it seems like we by no means let Echosmith transfer on from their 2013(!) hit “Cool Kids,” which discovered new life on TikTok almost a decade after its launch. “Hindsight” incorporates the identical sort of knowledge discovered on “Cool Kids,” besides the place “Cool Kids” was primarily pushed by sarcasm, the alt-pop “Hindsight” comes from the attitude of musicians who’ve lived a little bit longer. The music superbly displays Echosmith’s progress, personally and professionally.
Mimi Webb – “Amelia”
“Amelia” is the title monitor to Webb’s debut album, which dropped earlier in March. Ostensibly a love letter to her youthful self, “Amelia” does what most of us want we may: inform our teenage counterparts, “When you’re older, you’ll see life will pass you by/ So just enjoy the ride, don’t cry/ Everything is gonna be just fine.”
Victoria Anthony – “Can’t Hold Back”
I spent about 10 full minutes attempting to think about what the guitar riff on this music jogs my memory of, and I obtained it! Victoria Anthony’s “Can’t Hold Back” is actually giving Fefe Dobson’s “Take Me Away.” Highly suggest watching Anthony’s video, too, the place she’s actually giving it her throughout empty parking garages in Vancouver and Europe.
Mike Shinoda – “In My Head” (Feat. Kailee Morgue)
Always love listening to from Mike Shinoda, who leads the Scream IV soundtrack with this propulsive rap-electro-pop-goth providing that by some means works regardless of that unlikely style combo. And I simply learn that goth-pop vocalist Kailee Morgue modified her stage title from “Moore” to “Morgue,” which is sort of sensible.
Lil Kee – “Yall Know”
Atlanta-based singer/rapper Lil Kee (and Lil Baby affiliate) tends to layer weak verses below a haze of Auto-Tune, which earned acclaim on his 2022 debut mixtape Letter 2 My Brother. The identical affecting emotion washes by “Yall Know,” which rests on a poignant piano monitor and pained lyrics that reprocess the loss of life of his older brother, Lamar.
EMELINE – “feelings”
I ponder if EMELINE was pondering of the Offspring’s “Feelings,” which is technically a canopy of Morris Albert’s 1974 music, when she recorded this one? Anyway, the lyrics right here – a couple of girl getting strung alongside by a fuckboi – are stuffed with sage recommendation, resembling “good dick don’t mean that’s it’s meant to be” and “she’s nobody’s Barbie bitch and you’re no fucking Ken.” Agree, the bar is in hell.
Lauren Spencer Smith – “Best Friend Breakup”
I WISH there have been extra songs about finest pal breakups. That shit hurts, there’s normally no closure, and nobody talks about it anyplace close to as a lot as they need to. Lauren Spencer Smith tackles this situation with utter honesty (as she is wont to do), and I wager numerous her followers will really feel a lot much less alone in their very own finest pal breakups.
CLOSING TIME