Miley Cyrus released the glitzy and vividly emotional visual album “Something Beautiful” on Friday, May 30. The album gained over eight million streams on Spotify in its first 24 hours, and was highly anticipated after the release of singles and accompanying music videos to “Prelude,” “Something Beautiful,” “End of the World” and “More to Lose.”
The album begins with “Prelude,” a thrilling and intimate ode to beauty that is fleeting, but worth reveling in. Cyrus combines spoken word with dark, expansive notes on the violin and organ to provoke listeners into considering her words and living beside her in the mindset of helplessness and adoration.
Track two is “Something Beautiful.” This song draws the listener into its calm after the organized chaos of the prelude with Cyrus’ sultry vocals and a lulling tempo. The contrast distracts listeners, as the chorus hits and the track breaks out into an unexpected explosion of percussion and fierce electric guitar. Cyrus’ vocals then become an understated whisper, serving to exasperate the desperation of the lyrics as she sings, “I’m undressing and I’m confessing that / I’m so obsessed, yes.” Towards the end, Cyrus’ voice becomes a mere distortion lost amongst the guitar, artistically mimicking the ways we can lose ourselves in desire.
Less intense is “End of the World,” a catchy tune that is at once mindless and deeply intentional. The lyrics are cyclical, pleading for the song’s subject to ignore the apocalypse for a night of fun. Beneath the repetition is an honest critique and commentary on the state of the world and how we attempt to survive in it, offering up a disturbed kind of joy that turns what could have been a generic pop hit into an ironic, compelling song. While sonically different from the first two songs on the album, it fits the theme well, as it addresses the absurdity of joy and beauty that can be found concurrent to tragedy.
Cyrus cuts into the heart of beauty with “More to Lose,” lamenting the end of a relationship with understated piano and devastated vocals. This is where the theme of desperation and desire is fully unveiled, as the lyrics of this song express the same neediness listeners are brazenly confronted with in the title track, now with a sense of melancholic regret as Cyrus sings, “Oh, I stay when the ecstasy is far away / And I pray that it’s coming ‘round again.”
The first interlude takes away from the tone masterfully set by “More to Lose,” as Cyrus experiments with a whirlwind of bass, drums, synth and electric guitar. The short interlude is quickly proven unnecessary as the warm, upbeat intro to “Easy Lover” begins. This track carries the theme of desire and desperation in its lyrics, with less interesting instrumentation than those heard in earlier tracks. Cyrus’ ability to create a simple, pleasant beat is admirable, though it is not conducive to the song’s overall success. The second interlude is better than the first, with a more calculated sense of unease building between the quick, futuristic-sounding synths.
One of the album’s strongest tracks, “Golden Burning Sun,” follows. This song exemplifies each theme of the album, including desperation, desire and relentless adoration for beauty. This is highlighted in the chorus of the song as Cyrus sings, “You’re the only one I want / Can I have you if I never let you down?” The synths and delicate vocals decorating the song masterfully transport listeners to the place of nostalgia, love and desire Cyrus finds herself writing from.
“Walk of Fame,” features Brittany Howard and brings the album to a higher point of joy and confidence, as Cyrus sings about walking the world like a runway against the sound of glamourous disco-pop. Succumbing to sultry sounds once more, “Pretend You’re God,” is a smooth rock track with Cyrus singing of idealisation as she pleads with the song’s subject to be loved despite their separation. The song is vicious in its display of emotion, as Cyrus’ vocals grow as loud as the drums near the end of the track.
“Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved,” features Naomi Campbell and brings listeners back to the high, joyful place experienced during “Walk of Fame.” While not particularly unique, the song is fun with its flaunting lyrics and balance of string instruments with well-timed synths. The song is brilliantly followed by “Reborn,” as Cyrus sings of killing her ego. The song plays into the album’s ultimate theme of beauty in unfathomable, painful places as the lyrics put a spotlight on an experience usually considered humiliating with the reframing of ego death as rebirth.
The album closes with “Give Me Love,” a lively, honest reflection of desire and romance. The melody of the song is bright and uplifting, with the carefree vocals making it clear the lyrics are not a plea for affection but an acceptance of love given, and lost. A natural conclusion, this song breaks the tension building throughout the album, surrendering desperation and performance to rest in a place of simplistic beauty and contentment.