It’s Miley, unapologetic as ever.
A couple of days earlier, Miley Cyrus dropped her surname on social media to announce her new album Bass Persuades, her first with Atlantic Records. Tonight she unveiled the video for the title track. It’s a club-forward pop cut that sits squarely in a continuum with Madonna and Britney Spears. The way she opens with a firm “Let’s go” recalls Britney during the Blackout era, not to mention the minimalist, synth-driven beat. Yet there’s a British new wave vibe in her Sprechgesang delivery and the synth textures, as if she’s drawing from the lineages of Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, and New Order. And when the chorus lands and the rhythm takes off, her voice feels pure Madonna, even as the melody nods back to Miley’s earlier hooks.
“Bass Persuades” addresses how today’s young people can seem so down that they hardly party anymore. “The kids don’t wanna dance,” Cyrus repeats on the chorus. “We can’t stay like this forever/ Let’s surrender to the night, press our bodies close.” She also laments in the first verse, “Candy’s cut with fentanyl that nobody wants.” The second verse offers a retro moment: “Glued your eyes to the telephone screen/ But you missed the hit without MTV.”
For roughly the last decade, Cyrus’s catalog has swung between efforts aimed at mainstream pop ubiquity and more artful, alt-leaning ventures. She followed the rock-tinged Plastic Hearts with Endless Summer Vacation, which yielded the undeniable Grammy-winning hit “Flowers.” Then she returned with Something Beautiful, a more indie-leaning project brimming with contributions from indie musicians. Now, she’s clearly aiming for world-dominating status again. I’m not certain this track is the answer, but we’ll see if it works.
(Worth noting: the last two times she switched labels, it led to her two No. 1 hits, “Wrecking Ball” from her RCA debut Bangerz and “Flowers” from her Columbia debut Endless Summer Vacation. This lady sure does change labels a lot.)
Watch Mert Alas’ “Bass Persuades” video below.
Bass Persuades is released 9/18 on Atlantic.
