Destiny Hope Cyrus, wrecking ball meme and Tennessee native who, after some erratic public behavior that worried parents about the role models of their children a few years ago, seems to be attempting a comeback with her new album, “Younger Now.” The LP, like much of her work before, is a bit of a mixed bag of decent moments undermined consistently by an overall lack of direction.

 

Unlike the last two albums, “Bangerz” and “Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz,” Miley has moved towards musical accompaniment much closer to home, as opposed to the computerized, digital playgrounds of previous releases. Start to finish, twanging guitars and acoustic, largely unaltered, drums guide this Pop Country scrapbook. Musically, it feels like Miley has really held back, avoiding experimentation at all costs this time around, with tracks like “Malibu” and “I Would Die for You” that build, implying an impending finale after or during the bridge, only to trail off limply before cutting to the next song. In many ways, the songs of “Younger Now” have this unfinished quality, dissonant from the clean, money-backed characteristic of the production.

 

The notions and iconography Miley offers to the listener over the span of an unexpectedly slow 42 minutes is typical, at best. “Week Without You” is another pop breakup song, about her now fiancé Liam Hemsworth, garnished with a totally-not-expected twist at the end, where instead of “wondering what it’s like to not have you around,” Miley “[doesn’t] want to wonder what it’s like to not have you around.” It’s a kitschy, shallow approach that infects other songs like, “Missing You So Much,” as Destiny “look[s] up at the cosmos” and “wonder[s] if there’s really even an end,” and then not saying much more about it. Fortunately, however, there is an end, about six tracks later.

 

The latter half of the album is certainly the stronger of the two; however, autotune and a stale choral formula detract heavily from the potential of songs, which otherwise have captivating verses, like “Love Someone” and “Thinkin.’” “Bad Mood,” is one of the project’s blood diamonds in the rough, and comes dangerously close, if not unreservedly mimics, specific aspects of the instrumentation and composition of Portugal, The Man’s “Modern Jesus.” And sadly, it’s one of the most interesting sounding tracks on the LP.

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Despite a total lack of artistic experimentation or originality on this album, one of the most valuable things that Miley does is offer her personal perspective as a pansexual, expressing solidarity and support for the LGBTQ+ community. She does this on “Rainbowland” with Dolly Parton, playing off the nickname she has for her home studio. “She’s Not Him” highlights a relationship she had with another woman, and liked very much, but who isn’t “Him,” the man she loves. While singing about being in love is fine, there’s a somewhat problematic tinge to Miley building up her heteronormative relationship via the failure of her culturally progressive one.

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“Younger Now” does finish strong though. “Inspired” features Destiny Hope and her natural voice, in this final ballad of affirmation that “we are meant for more,” as her leaking sense of purpose is held up immediately to her more existential fears, “how can we escape all the fear and all the hate / is anyone watching us down here.” It’s a spiel of hopefulness despite a seemingly hopeless situation, an appropriate adage for the fans she has left.