Very long time followers of Miley Cyrus will understand that her newest album One thing Lovely is a unique file for her from its first minutes. Beginning with a prelude, like a prog rock epic, is one thing new for the singer nearing her twentieth yr as some of the attention-grabbing large pop stars. The intro monitor guarantees one thing grand and arty with its distorted, digital sound that remembers Icelandic singer Bjork.
So it goes for many of One thing Lovely, which makes an attempt a grand sound and largely succeeds at it. Cyrus has claimed the album is an idea file, and has namechecked Pink Floyd’s The Wall as an affect, however any type of idea shouldn’t be obvious on the primary few listens.
As a substitute, what listeners have is a fairly good dance-pop-rock file that has some uncommon twists and turns that mark it out as one thing atypical. The title monitor begins off as jazzy ballad, earlier than it all of the sudden swerves into jagged artwork broken saxophone and guitar solos. There’s a little bit of King Crimson in there, which isn’t one thing one would anticipate from the singer behind “Flowers” and “We Can’t Cease”.
One of the best facet of Miley Cyrus’ discography is that she is a musical chameleon who has hopped between kinds over the course of her profession. “Flowers” and “We Can’t Cease” themselves are two very disparate songs from the identical artist. Her curiosity in experimenting together with her sound and persona is one thing that has been core to her attraction since she broke freed from the Disney machine.
Nonetheless, “One thing Lovely” the music is one thing completely different and discordant, and undoubtedly piqued the ears of music snobs who usually paid no thoughts to Cyrus. There’s additionally the matter of the all-star record of collaborators she’s working with on this album which might be largely from the indie rock world. Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado who produced virtually the entire album. Different tracks function contributions from the likes of Adam Granduciel of The Struggle on Medication, Molly Rankin and Alec O’Hanley of Alvvays, Cole Haden of Mannequin/Actriz, Brittany Howard of The Struggle on Medication, Danielle Haim of Haim, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek. There’s additionally appearances from session bassist extraordinaire Pino Palladino and Flea of the Crimson Sizzling Chili Peppers.
“Finish of the World”, the superb second single from the album, is the place Rankin and O’Hanley’s contributions will be greatest heard. The music isn’t as experimental as “One thing Lovely.” As a substitute, it’s a splendidly catchy ABBA-esque dance pop quantity with dreamy overtones and a killer refrain. You may hear the sonic fingerprints of Rankin and O’Hanley on the melody construction and the backing vocals which might be supplied by Rankin herself. “The Finish of World” shouldn’t be an Alvvays music with Cyrus on lead vocals, for the reason that Canadian band has by no means gotten this disco earlier than. As a substitute, the primary affect is clearly Voulez-Vous and Tremendous Trouper period ABBA and their melancholic European pop. It’s an actual gem that units up the album as balancing on a high quality line between sonic experiments and pure pop music.
Sadly, the album fumbles its spectacular begin shortly on “Extra to Lose.” The music is a boring, uninteresting ballad that saps the power from the primary two tracks. It’s so uninteresting that it makes you wonder if you need spend 40 extra minutes with this file. “Extra to Lose” is unremarkable, and it ought to’ve been buried on the again half as a substitute of at monitor 4.
One thing Lovely recovers with “Simple Lover”, a strutting tender rock music recalling Stevie Nicks the place Brittany Howard is her primarily musical collaborator. The music was imagined to be one among Cyrus’ contributions to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter, and you’re left with the query of what may have been if you discover out who was imagined to be singing on this music. Cyrus and her collaborators do a great job turning this right into a pure solo quantity. The music’s largest highlights are Howard’s guitar and Sara Watkin’s fiddle as a lot as Cyrus.
The remainder of the album continues on an uneven, however largely stable monitor. “Golden Burning Solar” is a wonderfully respectable if unmemorable music that has a bouncy psychedelic synthpop sound buoyed by Nick Zinner’s wilting guitars.
Regardless of all of the indie rock collaborators, One thing Lovely is is firmly an digital pop album with experimental overtones. On the again-half of the file, it hops round Nineteen Eighties and early ’90s dance developments, together with the Hello-NRG of “Stroll of Fame” and the ballroom home of “Each Lady You’ve Ever Liked”. These songs are enjoyable and energetic, and it’s attention-grabbing to listen to Molly Rankin sing backing vocals on a disco music like she does on “Each Lady”, which she co-wrote.
Whereas One thing Lovely has some good highs, the lows on the album like “Extra to Lose” and the forgettable nearer “Give Me Love” maintain it again from its full potential. It’s nonetheless one among Cyrus’ greatest albums alongside Plastic Hearts and marks a brand new chapter in her style-hopping excursions. One thing Lovely is a enjoyable night hear the place the very best moments outweigh its missteps.
-
Miley Cyrus – One thing Lovely – 7/10
