Miley’s new album “lacks a smash single” and “has no plot”

[ThisGuyTony 29,618]

The Guardian: 3/5

“The film has no more in common with Parker’s adaptation of The Wall than it does Mrs Brown’s Boys: D’Movie. It has absolutely no plot, not because it’s a wilfully confusing exercise in non-linear arthouse cinema, but because it’s just a load of pop videos, albeit divided into three “acts” and interspersed with spoken-word interludes.

A lot of them are straightforward in-studio performances; the rest look like extended perfume commercials: Miley Cyrus walking through a film studio’s backlot in a pair of fluorescent blue furry chaps, or down Hollywood Boulevard at night in order to do a spot of writhing around on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Walk of Fame star.

If the rest of the album steadfastly fails to make the listener vibrate at a different level – it’s all about as psychedelic as a baked potato – and you struggle to identify any kind of concept, it’s still all very well written and well made, a varied succession of good vehicles for Cyrus’s powerfully raspy voice. What it lacks is the kind of obvious smash-hit single by which her albums stand or fall commercially: the most obvious candidates, End of the World and Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved, are strong but not undeniable. “

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/may/29/miley-cyrus-something-beautiful-review

[RAMROD 108,010]

Not surprised. The singles has said enough that it will be a snooze fest. 

[RochestrMonstr 3,013]

Well I’m not surprised. Miley’s successful eras have always been broken up by eras like this. She never seems to have two eras in a row with a major hit. She always seems to be able to bounce back whenever she wants though, which many cannot do.

Still, it makes one realize that Gaga’s “flop” eras are not actually flops at all.

 

Edited 15 hours ago by RochestrMonstr

[monstertoronto 9,604]

6 minutes ago, RochestrMonstr said:

it makes one realize that Gaga’s “flop” eras are not actually flops at all.

Agree. Even ARTPOP which was the lowest point of her career with the whole world basically turning on her, that album still had a genuine enduring hit in “applause”, had a second cute hit that can’t be named, and the album till debuted at number one.  That’s objectively a successful era. And it was still beloved by a certain section of fans (I was one and still love that album), and has been reevaluated by many more over time in a positive way. 

[Murakami27 4,045]

I’m still excited for this. 
 

But I did fear that this “film” would just be a collection of performances with little narrative. Judging by the videos released so far and this review, that does seem to be the case. 

[Sugar Baby 796]

She truly set herself up saying this would be a visual experience 

when the videos so far were just her singing with a mic 

[Gorehound 4,619]

Is the entire value of pop music purely down to whether it's a "hit"?  

Let Miley do her thing.

[Windowlicker 3,455]

28 minutes ago, Sugar Baby said:

She truly set herself up saying this would be a visual experience 

when the videos so far were just her singing with a mic 

God forbid a girl be a little hyberbolic 

[qoqo 3,461]

End of the world has everything a song needs to become a hit

[NemoMyName 595]

Beyoncé self titled album was the same, but it got praised for some reason

[nATAH 47,217]

i'm not surprised to hear this, the current music videos do actually feel like perfume commercials lol

[Flareon Voyager 268]

9 minutes ago, NemoMyName said:

Beyoncé self titled album was the same, but it got praised for some reason

Are you joking? Beyoncé was a major cultural phenomenon and complete shift in Beyoncé’s career. 

[skaxboy 5,261]

I personally don’t base my opinion on music reviews because everyone has their own taste. It doesn’t keep me from wanting to listen to an album nor blocks me from enjoying the album. Same with movies or tv shows. I sometimes feel reviewers are too busy being analytical or try to come up with a witty line to entice readers instead of enjoying the music. Plus, I have to give an album about 1-2 weeks to truly appreciate the work. 
 

I love “End of the World” and “More to Lose.” I like them more than “Flowers” tbh. I’ll be listening tomorrow. 

[vmpiregrn 875]

Had a feeling the “film” element would be lackluster, but I have no problem with Miley doing an atmospheric slow burn sort of album. It’s obvious she’s not after charts or numbers, she’s been exposed to or a part of this industry since the day she was born, she’s probably bored of it all. I really like what I’ve heard so far. I agree the “film” aspect seems to be overly self-indulgent though.

[nATAH 47,217]

59 minutes ago, NemoMyName said:

Beyoncé self titled album was the same, but it got praised for some reason

it got praised because it's not the same at all, like is this a bad joke?