One of the most eagerly awaited albums of the year in the United States, Miley Cyrus’ 9th album. Something Beautiful is a 13-song album packed with soul, Miley’s usual swag and unlikely collaborations with the likes of Naomi Campbell and Brittany Howard. After Can’t Be Tamed missed the target of freeing her from the preconceptions in which her youth spent at Disney had trapped her, she never stopped renewing herself and pushing back the boundaries of her art, passing through albums with more country tinges or pop-punk experiments like Plastic Hearts. On this one, co-produced with Shawn Everett, Miley takes measured risks while remaining cautiously in the “Flowers” tradition, with several attempts at disco-funk-flavoured hits and genre-bending explorations.
After the sci-fi journey of “Prelude 1,” embellished with spoken words that leave us with an orchestration that creates one of Miley’s most beautiful overtures, we discover the title track “Something Beautiful,” an effective, rhythmic ballad that showcases Miley’s rich alto range with some beautiful vocal inflections.
Then comes “End of the world,” with its dramatic intensity, melancholy and end-of-the-world synthesizer theme. “More to Lose” takes us back to the plaintive flights of the 90s, with its power-ballad tinge reminiscent of Céline Dion and Bryan Adams. “Easy Lover,” placed between two epic, percussive instrumental interludes, is one of those reminiscent of the other, with its disco groove enhanced by judicious strings that give Miley the ground to deploy her warm voice, which particularly shines in this kind of 70s soul register.
“Walk of fame,” filled with inspired guitar, trippy bass and Danielle Haim’s ethereal vocals, and “Every girl you’ve ever loved,” where she reflects on perfection and performance alongside Naomi Campbell reading a poem, are also in this vein.
“Golden Burning Sun” takes us back to its country roots, which are never far away in a very standard format, while “Pretend You’re God” explores alternative shores with this art-pop-rock interlude. “Reborn” and its ecclesiastical backing vocals. We end with “Give me love,” leaving us with the sweetness of Miley’s original acoustic guitar and flute, evolving into a final orchestration that’s well worth the detour.
The bar was set high for Miley and her team to match Endless Summer Vacation‘s level, but they meet it all the same on this album, which draws its strength from the effectiveness of its arrangements and the subtle crossovers between genres. Despite an occasionally generic or dated feel and some clumsy images, such as “The TV’s on but I don’t know/ My tears are streaming like our favorite show tonight,” the overall quality, helped in part by the impressive list of collaborators – Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Alvvays’, The War on Drugs, Alabama Shakes, Maxx Morando – is spot-on on one of the best productions of her career, which is much more adventurous than regular pop. Although it can’t claim the impact of its predecessor, the album is mature, experienced, creative, assertive and emotional, reminiscent at times of Gaga and at times of ABBA, but always finding a way to sound irrepressibly Miley.
