Miley Cyrus’ last couple of albums have hinted at her growing disinterest in the pop industry’s machinations. Following the mainstream success-seeking overreach of Endless Summer Vacation, she thwarted expectations with 2025’s Something Beautiful, a psychedelic odyssey a little too ambitious for its own good. She seems to remain in a similar lane on Bass Persuades, her first LP billed simply as Miley, which keeps some of the same collaborators – producer Kid Harpoon, fiancé Maxx Morando, and, in a refreshingly more pronounced role than its predecessor, experimentalists Model/Actriz – while framing itself as a gnarlier, throbbing dance record. Instead of being more focused, though, Cyrus’ approach is disappointingly non-committal, rendering Bass Persuades an album of diminishing returns, if one that gets surprisingly more personal the further it veers off course. It’s not quite the “extremely experimental” record she promised fans in the wake of Something Beautiful, but it contains glimpses of it.
1. Bass Persuades
The opening title track positions Bass Persuades as Miley Cyrus’ MAYHEM, though Gaga never had to officially drop “Lady” off her moniker; mononymity should be a natural marker of pop icon status, not just the harbinger of a new era. What ‘Bass Persuades’ risks in its argument for dancefloor euphoria (“I don’t want to change your mind”) is sounding too anonymous, but aimed as it is at a young generation for whom that kind of movement can feel alien, its cold, industrial throb feels apt. The Model/Actriz remix tucked at the end executes the job much better, though, making the whole album feel short on ideas.
2. Different Religion [feat. Model/Actriz]
The Brooklyn noise rockers get a proper moment in the spotlight on ‘Different Religion’, by far the strongest cut on the album. Hitting the perfect intersection of domestic bliss and nocturnal thrill-seeking, it should have given the record direction, not just an early teaser that turned out to be something of a feint. “My god’s a hot boy,” Cyrus darkly intones, and he finds form in Model/Actriz frontman Cole Haden, who savours the attention. It heralds the promise of a new beginning that only begins to dissipate after this point.
3. Let’s Get Married
I could never pretend to be an unbiased critic, but personal circumstances certainly factor into my enjoyment of ‘Let’s Get Married’, released as it was the week before my own wedding. It’s one of Cyrus’ most instantly convincing love songs, evoking a gentle weariness that betrays the fact that, yes, this wouldn’t be her first marriage, but also a sweet conviction that makes her veil-clad vision sound totally uncomplicated; a simplicity that hits home when getting married is only a hazy idea, and, I have to say, when it’s so close to becoming a reality that no amount of stress could ruin it.
4. Orbit
After the first couple of tracks, it becomes clear the album’s middle stretch is going to be midtempo and ballad-heavy, and ‘Orbit’ channels the singer’s cosmic yearning with a mix of piano and celestial electronics; you have to assume Model/Actriz are responsible for the grubby low end that brushes against Sara Kawai’s harp. There’s a lot more telling than showing: “When you look at me, it’s primal/ When you wave to me, it’s tidal/ And the gravity is vital, else I’d float away.” Cyrus has already proven as much, but the track falls flat before it lifts off, more painfully than playfully sincere.
5. Aftermath
The dance beat that snakes its way through is a welcome surprise, giving this post-breakup song a sense of kinetic vulnerability. Cyrus’ language is more visceral, too: “You bathe in the sweat/ You mouth like a straw/ You’re callous but soft/ You trace every flaw,” she sings amidst a flurry of electronics, having just expressed her distaste for “poets being profound.” It’s sad in the least dispiriting way possible, which is enough to pick the album’s momentum back up.
6. REDLIGHTS
With its disco-country pomp and ostentatious instrumentation, ‘REDLIGHTS’ is a solid song that sounds entirely out of place on Bass Persuades. Had it been called Strings Persuade, maybe.
7. Neon Signs [feat. Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow]
Unlike the other collaboration on the record, ‘Neon Signs’ is more baffling than it is sultry; it trades in the ABBA-indebted synthpop of its predecessor yet muddles things further. The line “Some people say I’m creepy, but others think I’m just right” is unfortunately the most memorable thing about it.
8. Innocent Ways
The album finally returns to a defiant mix of throbbing dance-pop and self-confrontational lyrics, this time addressing a familial crisis presumably involving her younger sister, Noah. Even if the beat isn’t as exhilarating as ‘Different Religion’, the writing keeps it engaging: “I kinda caved when I know better/ I should’ve never sent that letter/ But I was wired and in my feelings,” she admits.
9. Snow
As a closer, ‘Snow’ feels less like an exciting glimpse of Cyrus’ next phase than a retread of Something Beautiful, with its steady build and breathless romanticism. Though it begins as a forgettable acoustic ballad, it turns out to be a satisfying slow-burn that melts the album’s icy exterior more than any previous ballad. Track to track, it may be hard to gauge the temperature on Bass Persuades, but it ends on just the right note.
