Miley Cyrus has put out a new record, and it attempts to balance several distinct styles across its running time. The album spans ten tracks, and its sound shifts from a fond look back at space rock to harsh guitar textures to a love song shared with Andrew Wyatt. The result is a wide-ranging, unsettled collection.
The album arrives less than 18 months after Something Beautiful, and Cyrus said she recorded it quickly. The lead single, “Bass Persuades,” did not prepare anyone for what followed. The track leans into defeat, singing about kids who do not want to dance. Larisha Paul writes that the track diminished faith in the record for some fans, but warns against dismissing the whole album based on its first three minutes.
The Lead Single Was a Misleading Start
The record opens with “Bass Persuades”, which serves as both the first track and the title track of the album. The song centers on the idea that “the kids don’t wanna dance.”, a fitting observation for someone who keeps away from the stage like a plague, even though he is widely regarded as one of the most charismatic performers around.
Paul writes that the track diminished faith in the record for some fans, but warns against dismissing the whole album based on its first three minutes. The single’s pessimism was a deliberate trick, not a mission statement. The review’s verdict is that the record rewards patience.
“Orbit” Revives the Dead Petz Era
Longtime listeners will find the album’s peak in “Orbit.”. The track echoes Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, the 2015 space-rock opus that brought together Cyrus and Wayne Coyne alongside the Flaming Lips. That record mourned her late dog Floyd and her late blowfish Pablo, and it drifted into its own corner of the galaxy with songs like “Something About Space Dude.”
“Orbit” follows the same approach. It drifts above Pink Floyd-style synths for a psychedelic prayer meant to orbit around the listener without end. Then it shifts direction. Rather than remaining cosmic, Cyrus drops into a down-home country twang, making the whole thing even more trippy. The contrast is the joke, and it works.
Somewhere in the cosmos, Aunt Dolly is proud.
“Different Religion” Is a New Religion
This record’s standout moment arrives through “Different Religion,” which plays like a message straight from Cyrus herself. The song begins in the style of Black Sabbath around “Iron Man”, then shifts into Duran Duran’s sound from “The Wild Boys,” pushing the electro-distortion so far it reaches its limit and everything starts to crack like shattered glass. Model/Actriz add their forceful robotic commands above the industrial beat, giving the whole thing an extra layer of menace.
Some groovy theology gets proclaimed by Cyrus through song, with “I’ve got my own god! He drives a fast car!” and “My god’s a hot boy!” among her offerings. She ends her set by chanting about losing innocence, giving in to sin again, and starting anew. A review describes this as a new religion wherein God is essentially the same thing as having sex with a squadron of tanks while it grinds you into the dust. It stands as a wild, funny, and committed performance.
Model/Actriz Bring the Noise
Model/Actriz are the Brooklyn noise band that tangle with Cyrus on “Different Religion.” Simon Vozick-Levinson praises their excellent taste, calling them the coolest of the cool. Guitarist Jack Wetmore’s ice-pick riffs and frontman Cole Haden’s pitch-dark purr are a pure joy to hear tangled with Cyrus’s voice.
RS reported that Haden has long been drawn to the symbolic force of pop divas, a fascination he described himself as having in 2023. He has also enjoyed collaborating with the singer behind both “See You Again” and “Flowers.”, and the two have recorded together. Several tracks on the album feature instrumental contributions from the members of Model/Actriz.
Next month, the Hollywood Bowl will be where these two sets of rebel hearts unite for a live performance, and the review is watching to see how it goes.
Maxx Morando’s Role on the Album
Maxx Morando met Cyrus while dating her, and the two have since worked together on her music. Morando is the drummer for the alt-rock band Liily and was previously in the Regrettes. He co-wrote and produced a couple of tracks on 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation, and later took on half of Something Beautiful. Now he has produced all but two tracks on Bass Persuades. The pair started dating in 2021.
The two tracks that are most clearly about their relationship are these two. In a conversation with Zane Lowe, Cyrus said she appreciated Morando’s “genreless flow,” shaped by growing up on Migos. “He understands the blur that I like to live in when it comes to music,” Cyrus added.
| Album | Lead Single | Morando’s Role |
|---|---|---|
| Endless Summer Vacation | “Flowers” | Co-wrote and produced a couple of tracks |
| Something Beautiful | N/A | Produced half of the album |
| Bass Persuades | “Bass Persuades” | Produced all but two tracks |
“Neon Signs” Is the Creepiest Love Song
Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow joins Miley for a love ballad, and the pairing delivers what might be both the creepiest and most sensual moment on an album already full of both extremes. The two trade verses over a fractured doo-wop valentine, set within the Seventies electro soundscapes of Brian Eno’s work in the mode of his 1975 ambient classic Another Green World.
Depeche Mode synth burbles, Phil Spector-style girl-group castanets, and piano flourishes lifted directly from an Abba record all come together here. What actually makes the whole thing work, though, is the sound of Miley and Andrew singing into the microphone. They moan, they pant, they gasp, and they trade surreal pillow talk about tangerines, lotion, and poodle-shaped bruises with each other.
“I love you, Miley!” Miley. “I love you more!” Andrew. “Some people say I’m creepy, but others think I’m just right!” Miley. “No, you’re perfect!” Andrew. “You are so beautiful…to me!”
The review admits it wants what they are having.
Cyrus Dropped the Name, But Not the Family
Miley has dropped her surname to launch the Bass Persuades era, so she is simply Miley now. Yet on the driving track “Innocent Ways,” she shows that blood ties run deep. The song is dedicated to one of her sisters, likely Noah Cyrus, who is six years her junior.
Cyrus has not left behind her origins, even as she reshapes her music. Instead, the record’s ambition builds upon its predecessor, adding fresh collaborators and new directions while keeping the same emotional foundation intact.
The Verdict: A Sharp Record
The review’s individual pieces offer strong reactions across the album. “Bass Persuades” was a true first-single fakeout, and the record rewards patience. “Dead Petz” ambience rises again in “Orbit.” “Different Religion” is a fantastic highlight. “Neon Signs” is both creepy and sensual.
The record’s scope is what makes it work. It shifts from grief on a cosmic scale to intimate bedroom rock, then drifts into industrial theology before landing on a duet with a synth-pop icon. That range could easily backfire. Instead, it defines the project. Cyrus can catch listeners off guard, please them, create a massive hit, or craft something strange, and there is no telling which version of Miley will show up next.
This Miley album comes back to her old style without copying it. It is a record that surprises, delights, and confounds all at once. The lead single set listeners up for one thing, yet the full album goes somewhere else entirely.
Source material: “She’s Just Being Miley: Seven Takeaways From ‘Bass Persuades’,” Rolling Stone.
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