Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation

R&B/Soul

Throughout Endless Summer Vacation, Cyrus shows off the malleability of her voice, a brawny, rough-edged, bellow that can curve into a beguiling coo when the moment requires. “Jaded” is a swirling breakup cut that’s part “Wrecking Ball,” part “Déjà Vu,” with Cyrus’ rasp slicing through the haze of guitars on the regret-wracked chorus. “River” is thumping synth-pop with a soaring chorus that contrasts with the second verse, which is delivered in a deadpan monotone that makes its confessions of love feel more incredulous. “Wildcard” is galloping country-rock, Cyrus opening up her voice wide as she mulls over the conflict between her unbridled spirit and her desire for love. “Violet Chemistry,” one of the album’s sweetest pieces of ear candy, is a slick closing-time come-on that recalls Timbaland’s mid-‘00s imperial phase

Endless Summer Vacation carries on the tradition of Cyrus’ extensive and diverse roster of collaborators over the years. Congratulations if your 2023 musical bingo card included Brandi Carlile and Mike WiLL Made-It together on the same song! The psych-country-pop single “Thousand Miles” showcases both artists’ contributions; it’s one of the album’s most captivating tracks, with the lyrics’ restlessness matched by the clamour surrounding Cyrus and Carlile’s perfectly matched voices, and a hiccupping harmonica outro that suggests the road Cyrus is driving her “beat-up old Mercedes” isn’t going to end anytime soon. Sia appears in the savage song “Muddy Feet,” which is a vindictive reprimand to a lover who has strayed; her vocals are primarily in the background.

Cyrus excels most when she’s employing her voice to super-sell big ballads, and Endless Summer Vacation is no exception. “You” is a bring-down-the-house expression of love with a powerhouse vocal, and it’ll likely become a signature Cyrus track over the years. “Wonder Woman,” meanwhile, tells the story of a woman whose strength masks the hard years that she’s already lived; Cyrus wrote it in the wake of her grandmother’s passing in 2020, but some of the lyrics—”She’s a million moments/ Lived a thousand lives/ Never know she’s hopeless/ Only when she cries”—feel semi-autobiographical for Cyrus, who has lived a lot in her 30 years and who is often at her best when she projects resilience within the vulnerable moments she puts on record

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Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation Tracklist

1. Flowers
2. Jaded
3. Rose Colored Lenses
4. Thousand Miles (feat. Brandi Carlile)
5. You
6. Handstand
7. River
8. Violet Chemistry
9. Muddy Feet (feat. Sia)
10. Wildcard
11. Island
12. Wonder Woman
13. Flowers (Demo

 

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