REVIEW: Miley Cyrus' "Endless Summer Vacation" (Columbia)
Franklin, TN native, teen sitcom actor, pop superstar, Miley Cyrus is back with another record. A record that, from what I can tell, is driving radio and playlist listeners a little up the wall with it’s lead single “Flowers.” I myself haven’t really been phased by the manufactured hype as I’m not plugged into either of those worlds but find the song to be a decent pop anthem with it’s positive self-help messaging. I do find it pretty irritating however, that the song opens and closes the record. Sure, the bonus track is a demo of the song but I still feel the need to count it as a point against the overall experience given that it’s on the standard edition of Endless Summer Vacation.
I myself was actually anticipating this record quite a bit, not just from admiring Cyrus as a presence in the world of mainstream music, but also because I was such a fan of her last record; 2020’s Plastic Hearts. Which promised to be Miley’s attempt at a rock record and while I feel it failed at that it did manage to be a fun pop record with a definite and admirable edge. On Summer Vacation though I sadly don’t find myself having as much fun. This record sort of made me come to terms with the fact that, while I did have a great time with that last record, Cyrus’ music is sort of sonically uninspired and her lyrics often come across as pop music lorem ipsum. With talks of partying and going out and things like that, not that I think music that focuses on these topics is inherently bad or should be taken out of the conversation but in Miley’s case it often comes across as really boring.
There are of course songs that are the exception like the really compelling instrumental on “Thousand Miles,” “You” where she shows remorse toward the album’s greater narrative backed by some really great production. Then there’s “Violet Chemistry” which is an really strong pop song and makes me feel like the overall experience I get from this album isn’t a total wash. There is of course Miley’s vocal ability in general, I cannot deny that she is an incredible singer and at times even makes pretty middle of the road songs like “Rose Colored Lenses” stand out for the performances alone. But for every highlight there is a song like “Handstand” which is the sort of song I don’t know how to put into words as to why I don’t enjoy it a smooch as I do.
Then there is of course the aforementioned narrative where Miley talks about the loss of a romantic relationship and how upset she feels in the aftermath, which maybe I would sympathize with except for two issues. Number one is in a lot of these songs, while she’s clearly sad about the whole thing, it’s clear that she was the one both in the wrong and who chose to end things with makes the whole thing hard to resonate with. Then even when she’s not painting a picture of herself that’s less than favorable I cannot find a thing to relate to on a record about a break up as a woman who is literally going through a painful break up myself right now. Like, how could I end up totally unmoved by a single song or line here?
I think, while I still like Miley Cyrus as a pop figurehead, I need to accept that maybe a genre bend record with some fun cover songs was a one time thing for me and from this point on her music will just be some songs that I enjoy once in a while. But if I want a good pop record there are plenty of those to go around, especially in the current year already.
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