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There were few songs bigger in 2023 than the lead single, "Flowers," from Miley Cyrus's eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation. After 18 years of releasing music, Miley Cyrus has finally garnered her first nomination for Album of the Year at the GRAMMYs (along with seven other nominations). Coming off of years of media chaos, marriage and divorce, and a new record label, Miley Cyrus has re-entered the music world more confidently than ever with her longest running chart hit of her career and her eighth Billboard 200 top-five album release.
Stand-out tracks: "Flowers" "Wildcard" "Wonder Woman"
My favorites: "Jaded" "You" "River"
The album opens with Miley's smash-hit "Flowers," the self-love anthem that took the radio waves by storm for it's cheeky "I can love me better than you can" theme and strut-worthy, boppy beat. The follow up tracks are groovy "Jaded" and "Rose Colored Glasses." The former leans back into the Malibu-rock sound that we've heard from Miley on past albums like Breakout and Younger Now. Lyrically, "Jaded" reflects on someone being the instigator of a relationship ending without fully realizing it: "And it's a fucking shame that it ended like that/You broke your own heart, but you'd never say that/We went to hell, but we never came back." These two tracks are classic Miley reinvented for a new era.
We all know and love Miley's 2009 hit "The Climb," and track four "Used to Be Young" is the grown-up version of "The Climb." The production is a little simplistic, but the vocal and lyric components of the song are able to shine, as they reflect on the messy years of young adulthood. Interestingly, "Thousand Miles (feat. Brandi Carlile)" melodically sounds parallel to Miley's own "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" from 2010's Can't Be Tamed. I wish the Brandi Carlile feature on this one was a little more prominent, but the harmonies she provides complement Miley's beautifully.
"You" is Miley's take on the piano ballad; it's rustic and brutally honest, but stunningly romantic in it's own way: "You know I'm savage, but you're looking past it/I want that late-night sweet magic, that forever-lasting love/But only if it's with you."
Miley herself has described Endless Summer Vacation as a love letter to Los Angeles, and interlude-style "Handstand" production-wise perfectly captures the vibe of late-night LA. Distorted whisper-y vocals paired with a jazzy-synth backing track make this one a nice change of pace from the more pop-rock opening of the album. The dance-pop production style continues into "River," which production-wise would have sounded right at home on Can't Be Tamed or Miley's 2009 EP Time of our Lives, and "Violet Chemistry," which sounds like a mellowed-out version of songs like "Drive" from Miley's 2013 album Bangerz.
The next pair of tracks, again, remind me of many of the tracks on Miley's 2020 album Plastic Hearts. The shortest track on the album is the second track on the album with a feature,"Muddy Feet (feat. Sia)," which is followed by "Wildcard," which showcases, dare I say, Miley's best vocal performance in years. If you've forgotten amongst the tabloid drama she's found herself caught up in that she's an incomparable vocalist, "Wildcard" is your not-so-subtle reminder that no other recording artist out there sounds like Miley Cyrus.
The album conclusion is something completely unique to the Endless Summer Vacation album. "Island" and "Wonder Woman" are among the most auditorily immersive tracks on the album, with the former having that classic reggae-style production paired with softly sung lyrics like "I can paint my toenails while I'm soaking up the sea/The only thing that's missing here is you and our TV" and "Am I stranded on an island?/Or have I landed in paradise?/I hear your voice like a song on the radio/All day long 'cause, boy, I be missing ya." "Wonder Woman" is pared back to Miley's soaring vocals and a simple piano accompaniment, illustrating the strength in vulnerability of women. Some of my favorite lyrics on the entirety of Endless Summer Vacation come at the very end: "All her pain is polished/All her tears are planned/But when her favorite record's on and she's dancin' in the dark/She can't stop her eyes from wellin' up/She makes sure that no one's 'round to see her fall apart/She wants to be the one that never does."
GRAMMY for Album of the Year
Although Miley has described Endless Summer Vacation as a love letter to LA and the self-discovery journey she's found herself on in the decade and a half that she's lived in the Malibu area, this album more feels like a celebration of every era of Miley's musical past. It alludes to almost every single one of her previous albums either lyrically or production-wise. The fact that the GRAMMYs chose to specifically nominate this particular album of Miley's for Album of the Year is an astronomical achievement for her, as it seems that the album itself honors her entire career thus far.
Compared to other nominees in the Album of the Year category, Endless Summer Vacation doesn't quite have the finesse, cohesion, or volume of massive hits as compared to some of its competition. Quite simply, it's an incredible pop album. It showcases Miley Cyrus's achievements and growth as an artist over the last almost-two decades. As a complete project, Endless Summer Vacation earns its spot in the pool of nominees for Album of the Year, but I can pretty confidently predict that it won't be taking the title.
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