Perhaps Miley Cyrus can be tamed. \u201cYounger Now,\u201d Cyrus\u2019 sixth studio album, gives Hannah Montana fans the resolution they were longing for while simultaneously attributing a surprising adjective \u2014 \u201cboring.\u201d Cyrus\u2019 journey of introspection seems to have revealed her strikingly true self and lackluster composition skills.<\/p>\n
Depending on one\u2019s age, Cyrus\u2019 return to her pop-country roots will either come as a shock or a verified prediction of a similar narrative to that of \u201cThe Parable of the Prodigal Son.\u201d From the humble beginnings of her first LP, \u201cMeet Miley Cyrus,\u201d to her defiant phase of 2013\u2019s \u201cBangerz\u201d and 2015\u2019s \u201cMiley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz,\u201d Cyrus has taken fans\u2019 ears on a rollercoaster. Her transcendental exploration of pop culture, politics, drugs and love painted her in a portrait she could not escape. \u201cYounger Now\u201d capitalizes on Cyrus\u2019 recent transitional era.<\/p>\n
The title track beckons the listener to empathize with Cyrus as she sings the equivalent of a journal entry. The eerie picking of the guitar opens the album with the lyrics, \u201cFeels like I just woke up.\u201d Upon initial reaction, connecting the lyrics to her recent past made the song come alive. Cyrus takes the transparent approach by adding, \u201cI\u2019m not afraid of who I used to be,\u201d but is adamant about moving forward in her career.<\/p>\n
It is important to note that the R&B ballads of \u201cBangerz\u201d are nonexistent on \u201cYounger Now.\u201d The overuse of hip-hop beats and trap mixes are nowhere to be found. Heavy influence of warm acoustic guitars and soft tempos flood each track. Oren Yoel, Cyrus\u2019 longtime producer, is credited with the songwriting and instrumental talent. Cyrus\u2019 and Yoel\u2019s collaboration on \u201cYounger Now\u201d proves to be a more timid mix than the previous material produced.<\/p>\n
The tracks \u201cMalibu\u201d and \u201cRainbowland\u201d are linked by association. Cyrus\u2019 colorful music studio named \u201cRainbowland\u201d is located in the well-endowed city of Malibu, California. Naturally, \u201cMalibu\u201d serves as a sun-baked love story that can only be truly experienced in California. Being the first single released, \u201cMalibu\u201d explains her rekindled relationship with fianc\u00e9 Liam Hemsworth.<\/p>\n
\u201cRainbowland\u201d features Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and Cyrus\u2019 godmother, Dolly Parton. The spirit of their relationship is defined through the first 30 seconds of the track as Parton\u2019s voicemail is played. Their collaboration amplifies both vocalists\u2019 bluegrass roots. The washy tempo of the snare drum and tambourine exalts the signature sound Parton is known for. In an interview with People magazine, Cyrus said the theme of the song is to create unity amongst all people no matter one\u2019s race, gender, religion or political party. Although Cyrus is known for speaking her mind, the song falls flat due to the cheery, endearing lyrics that miss directly identifying society\u2019s current social injustices.<\/p>\n
Cyrus\u2019 mature vocal range soars on the tracks \u201cI Miss You So Much\u201d and \u201cI Would Die For You.\u201d Her capability to be transparent and vulnerable for these short moments create accents that are lacking in the surrounding tracks. The stripped-down percussion and supple vocals give \u201cI Would Die For You\u201d a brutally honest expression.<\/p>\n
Cyrus has the tendency to create songs like \u201cThinkin\u2019\u201d that regress her development as an artist and disrupt the flow of her albums. The lyrics speak for themselves as each rhyming word is repeated throughout the chorus just enough to be implanted in your brain for the next two weeks. \u201cBad Mood\u201d unironically uses a bland chord progression tailored for the country-pop genre that regrettably leaves the last portion of the album feeling empty.<\/p>\n
Overall, \u201cYounger Now\u201d exhibits an experienced vocalist that has yet to find a musical identity. It is not the album that erases the past. However, it defines who she has become and where she is going. Whether you\u2019ve made a list about the \u201c7 Things\u201d you abhor about Cyrus or not, you have to respect her resilience to be her own person. Many ex-Disney stars follow the same pattern of \u201cfalling out,\u201d but as of late, we are witnessing a new, mature era of Miley Cyrus \u2014 an era that hopefully proves to produce stronger albums than \u201cYounger Now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perhaps Miley Cyrus can be tamed. \u201cYounger Now,\u201d Cyrus\u2019 sixth studio album, gives Hannah Montana fans the resolution they were longing for while simultaneously attributing a surprising adjective \u2014 \u201cboring.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14928,"featured_media":9319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}