ALBUM REVIEW: Miley Cyrus - Endless Summer Vacation

    Miley Cyrus, to my ears, is a sort of erratic name in music, although there is a very good chance I'm misinformed. My only modern experiences with her music are really from her post Hannah Montana days, which doesn't really matter seeing that I was a Nickelodeon kid anyways - I've heard "Party in the USA" played to death on the radio, then I heard my dad playing Weird Al's parody of the song to death in the car, and if I had an hour taken off my life for everytime I've heard "Wrecking Ball" back in 2013, nothing would change seeing that I'm already certain that has happened. 10 years after... that, and a record label change and Cyrus is back with her first studio album in three years and her seventh total by my count. Unfortunately, Endless Summer Vacation is a pretty dated sounding album, and most of the songs aren't nearly interesting enough to justify itself - despite being only about a week old at the time of writing, this release already feels like a relic.

     The only thing "Endless" about Endless Summer Vacation is the runtime. At only 40 minutes and 12 real songs, you'd think that this is a pretty quick in-and-out situation as far as an album goes. Not so much. I couldn't tell you what's fully at fault here - whether it's stale pop cliche, Wild Life Syndrome, or both - but this album feels much longer than the advertised 40 minutes. It doesn't help that a song like "Jaded" is already five years behind the time on first play - reminds me of a more synth-focused 2000s Liz Phair, which is either good or bad depending on your tolerance level of that kinda thing. If you're willing to sit through the entire thing, you will be rewarded with the occasional solid pop number. "Rose Colored Lenses" and "Thousand Miles" are both solid enough pop numbers that probably showcase the best of the album, but after that it's mostly a slog that hardly gets off the ground - even the seemingly successful single "Flowers" that opens the album fails to get a head start, and by the incredibly stale "Wildcard" you're checking to see how much longer is left on this album so you can listen to that new Kali Uchis album instead.

    Cyrus has been in the game for quite some time, and yet their newest release feels just as stuck in the past as "Wrecking Ball" is to my ears. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with going for gold, but on Endless Summer Vacation all Cyrus really gets is a whole bunch of mediocrity, which I'm not gonna pretend isn't a little unfortunate - the best of the album shows potential for a breezy summer disc, after all. Whether it's playing it too safe or not having their heart in it, Endless Summer Vacation is a more cold experience than you may anticipate.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Endless Summer Vacation.