Miley’s Album ‘Bass Persuades’ is Abrupt But Convincing 

We’ve known her as Miley Cyrus since she was Hannah Montana, but ahead of the rollout for her newest album Bass Persuades, Google, when prompted by search, asked, “Did you mean… just: Miley?” While costume, genre, and hairstyle re-brandings are industry commonplace, nonetheless attributed to Cyrus since her Disney beginnings, the mononym adjustment announced by the World Wide Web comes on the heels of “Reborn,” a stellar song from 2025’s ‘cinema-scaped’ (entirely music video supported) LP, Something Beautiful. Miley called the last record a final chance for her to make music as the persona she had been trying to convey since a young debut, but this newest project still has her instinctual “Cattitude.”

Many things in recent years could have gotten in the way of the Tennessee-born artist’s self determination to explain her identity to the public: the recent passing of her trailblazing godmother, Dolly Parton; a studio fire that cost EPs of material for the never-released SHE IS MILEY CYRUS; a needed surgery for performance-induced Reinke’s Edema damaging vocal cords… No matter, despite these setbacks and contradicting audience opinions on what stylings best suit the vocalist’s genre widespanning discography, she has persevered and built a body of work that honors legendary collaborators from all realms of her own palette: David Byrne on the phenomenally long-running “Lockdown;” The Flaming Lips as architects for the mindbending cult-classic, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz; plus Stevie Nicks in a shrined variant of “Midnight Sky” / “Edge of Seventeen.”

The lead single, title track, and first song “Bass Persuades” is contemplative on the grounds of fan-artist interaction. Confidence is key here for Miley while playing on words then doubling down by use of sound effects, but the message sticks as pseudo-political. “Glued your eyes to the telephone screen, but you missed the hit without MTV,” has a punchiness, but the change in entertainment landscapes might be a bit more interesting to analyze if looking at it through an audience lens rather than outward from atop the podium. The spoken portions feel nearly identical to those on her last release, and after reading fan reactions online, there seems to be a consensus that many listeners have walked away with an overall outtakes impression.

“Different Religion” features American band, Model/Actriz who contribute an eeriness that, surely to Miley’s liking, as a fan herself who covered the hit “Gimme More,” has an effect as if Danja from Britney Spears’ Blackout took a more glam industrial approach. The beat is what makes the second track most noteworthy, and I actually ran it back before moving forward in my listening experience because of being intrigued by how the recording managed to upgrade elements from Plastic Hearts, Cyrus’ rockier project. The song would also work as a callback to the limited discography of her Trent Reznor produced Black Mirror alter ego, Ashley O, and there is a similarity to earlier, more gothic work by Lady Gaga. 

“Let’s Get Married,” not to be confused with the recently-under-tabloid-influenced-scrutiny Bleachers song of the same name, is dedicated to Maxx Morando of the band Liily, Miley’s fiancé, and again it has nothing to do with Lena Dunham, Margaret Qualley, or Mitski. However, the tune has received proper treatment with a gorgeous black and white video shot at the Chateau Marmont, giving viewers the feels as Miley who once infamously rolled between sheets for her “Adore You” visual, now beams from her suite beside Morando. Her vocal runs are centerframe in the mix at times, but the performance occasionally trails off into thick layers of strings without a clear sense of intention to do so, by means of using her dynamic voice as an instrument itself—a talent anyone familiar with her game knows to be entirely doable, since she captured our hearts by crushing a performance of “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High” by the Arctic Monkeys for MTV Unplugged in 2014.

“Orbit” is a structured ballad which feels chronological considering the Grammy success of her massive hit “Flowers” in 2023 that presumably-to-many reimagined Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” something that remains legally up in the air. The piano rhythm drives forces of lust, and as a spectator the romance is beautiful…certainly having grown up watching many of the younger industry starlets of this generation survive media cycles that invaded upon their early private/personal relationships. The narrative continues to be hers on “Aftermath” where the project finally begins to sonically earn its club-evocative name. The skipping trance is fresh without leaning too heavily into trying to recapture the “Someone Else” hypnotics she helped to pioneer the popularity of with Bangerz.

“REDLIGHTS” moves slightly more into the nostalgia-baiting that had been avoided thus far, as over a looped percussive effect that haunts like cricket chirps, the melody feels extremely Avicii coded. The Spanish guitar adds character, but I am not entirely sure if it is meant to contribute to or detract from the track’s inherent ambiguity when Miley sings, “Take me to countries where jewelry’s still buried in the sand.” This moment in the album also stands out with the all-caps spelling, but is the track worthy of that depiction’s hype, notably when the artist has never characterized a song this way prior? *Not including acronyms or hashtags: “FU,” “G.N.O. – Girls Night Out,” “SMS (Bangerz),” “#GETITRIGHT,” “D.R.E.A.M.”

Track seven, “Neon Signs” features Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow with an enticing beat and vocal processing. The strumming element strikes chords to be built up keenly forward thinking. Miley’s delivery of softly and heavily alliterated descriptions feel fit for a Parisian cafe even before her and Andrew descend into breathy, ephemeral moans of pleasure. The song is also now my personal runner up for tracks by the artist that reference citrus, closely behind the 2015 Big Sean collab, “Tangerine,” which actually felt impactful, thanks to her hippie antics of the past. With proper jukebox influenced intention, a genre spanning release can work, like when Azealia Banks segued between her own doo-wop duet into hip-hop on Broke With Expensive Taste’s “Nude Beach a-Go-Go,” but moving into “Innocent Ways” makes it apparent that the jarring track list positioning of Bass Persuades is its greatest detractor. However, as a standalone, track eight remains gripping because of funky, background vocals performed perfectly. The synths amp up the lower end of the mix, and it feels like a pastiche of Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira, who once opened for and toured closely as friends with Miley. The lyrical imagery also contributes to this 2010s schtick with a melody that sounds like European pop in the vein of Natalia Kills.

“Snow” has a meditative intro and its loops peel back the glitz to reignite woozy, story-and-voice centered by design, a trait of Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz that has kept it so permanent in the audiophile psyche; Charli xcx also recently referred to the aforementioned psychedelic record on her BBC Best Song Ever podcast. The Winter inspired name is apt with delicate pacing through even the highly filtered segments of its epilogue. She sings, “We’ve got our backs on the floor, can’t believe that we’re bored. We shouldn’t be in Kyoto; We’ve never been here before. We end up turning the page: a requiem for the day, and now we’re moving in slow mo.”

Phonetically, I was excited for the “Remixx” reprise, also having enjoyed the other Model/Actriz moment on track two, but while the eighties flare is repackaged to be more modern, something more experimental may have had more return value. The final track, which could be described as just a bonus, reworks the instrumentals in a way that makes me appreciate the lead single’s concise structure for maintaining so many layers throughout, but holistically, it is not a noteworthy addition of a remix. The project could have benefited from a more universal theme, but it also begs the question of how transformative an album must be rather than a chance for the artist to share music as the character we are already familiar with. In hindsight, the closing moment for the album finally gave the vibe I was expecting entirely from Bass Persuades, which muddies the waters. Cyrus is capable of adding her own flair to electronica, and now would have been her best chance to do so, following in the footsteps of recent collaborator Beyoncé’s contribution to house music on Renaissance, and with dance being at the forefront of music catalogues, elevating the progression of EDM further!

Non-streaming track eleven, “Smile” is incredible, and I cannot help feeling disappointed that the excerpt was not included in all forms of the final cut, as listening to it unofficially online, I found myself bookmarking multiple uploads of it, so I won’t struggle to find it later; in fact, I think this number could potentially be my favorite recording to come from the era thus far, but after hearing early talks the album was planned to be twelve tracks, staying tuned for more seems plausibly worthwhile… fingers crossed. Its bass persuaded me to respect this route of artistry for Miley should she stick to making energized material like it, and I may have to purchase the physical edition or album on iTunes to hear it more accessibly.

Following a recent label pivot, Miley has found her footing and continued to provide fans with a plethora of audio and visual material that adheres to a strict, aesthetic vision; on her newest release, some of the creative choices may feel safer than before, but the project is still worth listening to. The additional production is chic by Michael Pollack (Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Charli xcx…); Kid Harpoon (Florence + the Machine, Haim, Lykke Li…); Aldae; and The Monsters & Strangerz.

In a two-night run at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl next month, Bass Persuades will be showcased, with an opening act by album-featured-artist Model/Actriz. Miley has always been one to transform, and now as someone more focused on for her craft rather than endlessly circulated as a meme queen, she has begun to solidify a legacy that would make her godmother proud.

Bass Persuades by Miley Cyrus is out now.