Superstar Miley Cyrus dropped her new album “Endless Summer Vacation” overnight in addition to her new single “River.”
The song is the second track off of the singer’s eighth studio L.P. It follows the success of Cyrus’ hit “Flowers.”
The album has 12 songs and features stars like Sia and Brandi Carlile.
“Endless Summer Vacation,” has already received rave reviews too.
MSN said “On this record, you believe her every word as she draws listeners deep into the tales of a woman relearning the single life. You can imagine her therapist high-fiving her for ‘sitting with’ her feelings,” the review said. “But, as ‘Endless Summer Vacation’s’ tide washes slowly from your headphones with the piano ballad ‘Wonder Woman,’ you realize this isn’t really a festival record. It’s the sunbather’s choice. A lovely long bask in Cyrus’s maturing talent.”
One thing to note, this is more than just “a divorce album.” Cyrus and her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth announced their divorce back in 2019. The split was finalized in 2020.
“‘Flowers’ — and the countless fan readings of all the potentially shady references to Hemsworth’s alleged infidelity — made people think Cyrus was working on an album-length review of her marriage that would prove even more scathing than her previous releases,” Rolling Stone reported. “But while there are pointed break-up moments on ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ — on the visceral ‘Muddy Feet,’ she sings ‘You smell like perfume that I didn’t purchase’ — Cyrus is firmly in the present, pleased about where she landed.”
While many Smilers, aka fans of the former “Hannah Montana,” star have grown up with her, critics say this album is an accumulation of her albums over the past decade.
“‘Flowers’ previewed the ‘70s haze of the album’s overarching pop-rock approach, but ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ also includes nods to the psychedelia of the ‘Dead Petz’ era, the sturdy rock of ‘Plastic Hearts’ and the trap beats of ‘Bangerz,’ as Cyrus revisits relationships that didn’t work out, peaceful blips that should have lasted longer, and personal truths that have led her to this moment as a fully self-assured 30-year-old,” Billboard explained.
Page Six wasn’t too keen on this move.
“In bouncing from one genre to the next, she risks losing the cohesion that is key to a fillerless record like her superb 2020 release, ‘Plastic Hearts,’ making ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ feel like a step back,” the site said.
However, the review did note that versatility “has kept her on the music charts for nearly two decades.”
Fans can experience the entire album live by tuning into Cyrus’ “Backyard Sessions” concert on Disney+.