Music Review, Miley Cyrus, “Younger Now”

Music Review, Miley Cyrus, “Younger Now”

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Miley Cyrus is no stranger to playing a persona. She achieved stardom as a pre-teen playing a secret pop star on the widely successful Disney Channel show “Hannah Montana” and went from “Party in the U.S.A.” to appropriating hip-hop culture for profit in the blink of an eye. Now, Miley seriously wants you to forget the past few years of her career and the whole 2013 VMAs debacle because she is “so not that.” On her latest album, “Younger Now,” Miley Cyrus denounces her “Bangerz” era and finds peace with herself in the aftermath of a turbulent half decade. But what happens when the artist lifts the persona but is left with something so bland and uninspiring, you almost miss the cringe-worthy twerking? Do we then acknowledge that the drama of a public meltdown (and, again, appropriating another culture for years before chucking it like leftover sushi when it no longer generates media buzz or revenue) is the art that sells tickets to a world tour – not the music itself? Although Miley Cyrus claims to have found herself personally, musically, she’s got a long road ahead of her. Miley Cyrus has a powerful voice, both literally and figuratively (her philanthropic efforts are incredible for someone her age, and she’s even founded her own organization to fight injustice facing homeless youth and LGBTQ youth called The Happy Hippie Foundation), but that voice seems lost in her transition from persona. The opening title track begins with “Feels like I just woke up.” After listening to the album in it’s entirety, full of lazy lyrics and flat musical production, we are left wondering if she’s even bothered to get out of bed yet.