Introduction

Endless Summer Vacation was released to the public on March 10, 2023. It was Miley Cyrus’ first studio album with Columbia Records, after splitting ways with RCA Records in 2021. The solo project only has two features on the whole 14 song project, those being Sia and Brandi Carlile. She gave the album a personal touch, as she cited the project as her “love letter to LA,” the city in which a majority of the recording took place. It was preceded by lead single, “Flowers,” which stood atop the Billboard 100 for eight weeks and topped the charts ub 36 other countries. The album itself reached number one in ten countries, and made it to the top 10 in 17 countries. All in all, Endless Summer Vacation was a clear commercial success for Cyrus and her new label.

Vocal Performance

Opening the project, Miley utilizes her voice in a somewhat expected manner. “Flowers” and “Jaded” feature a near perfect singing style brought on by her, as she sounded tremendous. The first half of the project features a mellower and softer vocal style, which is very hit or miss with Miley. Switching styles at “Handstand,” Miley begins to sing in a manner that is not designed for her. To be blunt, she does not sound good at all in tracks seven through nine. She tries an electronic take on the project there, and it falls entirely flat. She picks her performance up with “Muddy Feet,” where she utilizes her personal style to go into less singing. This song features the best vocals of the entire album, however, “Thousand Miles” also does compare, which features country style vocals.

Production

Production is where the album excels, however, there are some songs with extremely low value. Many of the tracks feature different styles of drums and bass, often being paired with an acoustic guitar or piano. The guitar playing is often wonderfully used, being played low in volume, while the beating of the drums elevate the tone. The inclusion of the piano playing is wonderfully utilized, as it breaks up the harsher parts into a mellow sound. The lowlights on the album are again on tracks seven to nine, where she switches to a more electronic sound. While this could have hit the mark, it leaves the listener skipping the track. It does not play well alongside her vocals, again leaving the tracks as the bottom three on the album, as almost guaranteed skips.

Meaning

The album is a very personal play by Cyrus. As stated before, she believes the album to be “her love letter to LA.” Endless Summer Vacation, however, does not feature much knowledge to this, apart from being broken into two parts. One part emphasizes the calm nature of LA, while the latter half of Endless Summer Vacation is guided towards club music. The most meaning on the project is brought on “Wonder Woman.” This track talks about the strongest people still being deteriorated over time, although they often attempt to hide this vulnerability. Another common topic on the album is relationships and love, which is almost talked about on 75% of all the tracks. “Flowers” is the most personally connected song, as it was written to Miley’s ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth. The song was even released on his birthday.

Conclusion

Honestly, I do not understand how Endless Summer Vacation was nominated in the Album of the Year category. Nor do I understand how “Flowers” is the song that made the most accomplishments, as in all reality it is lower on the rankings. The production is the highlight, as her vocal performance is mid to low at best.

Song Rankings

1. “Muddy Feet” (feat. Sia)
2. “Jaded”
3. “Rose Colored Lenses”
4. “Thousand Miles” (feat. Brandi Carlile)
5. “You”
6. “Wildcard”
7. “Flowers”
8. “Used to Be Young”
9. “Wonder Woman”
10. “Violet Chemistry”
11. “Island”
12. “River”
13. “Handstand”

Strongest Track

“Muddy Feet” and “Jaded” are easily the top two songs on Endless Summer Vacation, with the initial song being crowned the best. The vocals of Miley Cyrus features the style she is meant to sing in, allowling the track to sound near perfection. Meshing it alongside the piano and harsh drums, Cyrus illustrated a wonderful song. The only downside of the track is the limited usage of Sia as a feature, with her only being present in the outro of the track. The outro does sound amazing and tops the song off.

Final Notes

As always, take the reviews as opinion pieces. Not everyone will share the same views. As for these opinions, leave them below to share your thoughts. We also suggest subscribing to our emails to keep up to date with posts. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the contact form. This will allow you to receive weekly emails of recaps. Finally, go give Endless Summer Vacation a listen for yourself.