First she was Hannah Montana, then she broke out as her own artist: Miley Cyrus. She has transcended over the years, from “The Best of Both Worlds,” to her 2013 smash hit album, Bangerz, to finding a new sound with her much more relaxed 2017 album, Younger Now.
In Cyrus’ new extended play, She Is Coming, the pop singer delves into some of her more relaxed beats featured on Bangerz, however the EP isn’t as great as audiences expected.
The EP isn’t terrible, but it certainly falls short of the hype. Cyrus has been exploring her sound and flipping back and forth between genres, however the EP’s combination of a more relaxed sound with her confident, brazen attitude doesn’t quite use the strengths Cyrus possesses, especially in regard to the songs and their meanings.
The highlights of the EP are by far the songs “Unholy” and “The Most.” In “Unholy,” Cyrus addresses her behavior, and how she justifies her actions, but it also plays devil’s advocate by addressing how Cyrus feels numb and like the fun is slipping away. “The Most” focuses on Cyrus’ struggle about loving someone and knowing they love her the most, so she takes advantage of that and feels somewhat guilty. It wouldn’t be a Miley Cyrus release without a love song, and the closing track is one of her best yet. With lyrical patterns and laid back instrumentation, she truly returns to her Nashville roots “The Most.” The songs sonically lack a lot of complexity, but the overall meaning gives them some substance to work with.
Otherwise, the remaining EP lacks depth and true meaning. “Mother’s Daughter,” “Party Up the Street” and “D.R.E.A.M.” are exciting and compelling in their instrumentation, utilizing a club feel, however, the songs lack any deeper meaning and simply perpetuate the “money, sex, drugs” stereotype in popular rap and pop music.
If her goal was to create a few clubbing songs with little complexity that people could dance to, she definitely achieved it. Lastly, “Cattitude” is just a failed attempt to recreate the thrilling and fun energy on Bangerz, but it ridiculously flops. The only good part about it is the RuPaul appearance.
One constant throughout all of Cyrus’ musical endeavors is her vocals. Cyrus has such a unique voice that shines in her music. Her Nashville roots give her a bit of a country edge, and mixed with her sweet tone, raspy quality and pop upbringing create a special combination unmatched by a lot of pop singers today.
The EP feels like it was written for high schoolers just getting out of classes for the summer, trying to be cool and trendy by partying, doing drugs and listening to hype music. It definitely isn’t an improvement from her other music, but it’s also not terrible. Cyrus returns to her club side, now wiser about music production and more relaxed in her sound, but still containing that same thirst to party. With a little more complexity in her lyrics, Cyrus’ next release is sure to be headed in the right direction.
