Miley Cyrus’ ‘Bass Persuades’: All 10 Tracks Ranked

Ending with an alternate version of its opener and lead single could’ve been an interesting and provocative move for Bass Persuades, if the redo provided a notably different and unexpected take on the title track. Unfortunately, “Bass Persuades Remixx” doesn’t do enough to contrast itself with the original (or to earn that second “x” in “Remixx”) — instead just thinning out and harshing an arrangement that was hardly overly intricate or lush to begin with, and upping the pace to the point where Cyrus’ vocals sound needlessly rushed.

A gently swaying groove and ABBA-like melody starts off “Neon Lights” on the right foot, and Cyrus’ vocals mix fairly well with longtime collaborator Andrew Wyatt. But the song doesn’t quite know where to go from there, and loses itself almost completely in a pair of breathy spoken bridges in which Cyrus and Wyatt flirt cartoonishly (“Some people say I’m creepy… but others think I’m just right.” “No, you’re perfect! So perfect!”), like an inside joke we’re clearly not in on.

“REDLIGHTS” struts into the room like it could be the next “Flowers,” floating on an easy slow-disco groove and billowy ’70s strings, just like that indomitable pop smash did three years earlier. But it’s missing a similarly sized vocal hook — or even an easily grasped lyrical conceit — and its allure is undone slightly by some of the album’s clumsier-landing lyrics (“Truth is all we need/ And also what I fear,” “Anywhere you go/ I will also go.”)

About as jaw-dropping a first 10 seconds as any Miley song — maybe any pop song — in recent memory, with an engine-revving guitar squall giving way to her proclamation “I’ve got my own God/ He drives a fast car,” while guest backing band Model/Actriz provides the appropriately spiky industrial punctuation. It’s a lot to live up to, and the rest of the song isn’t quite up to the task — as the chorus swerves into far more familiar and less exciting alt-pop territory, the melody doesn’t quite hang together, and Cole Haden of Model Actriz’s gothy sing-croaking on the the second verse blends awkwardly with Cyrus’ softer, sweeter vocals. Intriguing ideas, but somewhat messy execution.

With an opening “Let’s go,” an insistent beat, a menacing synth riff reminiscent of Real Life’s “Send Me an Angel,” and one of the most arresting pop song titles of the year, “Bass Persuades” does come pretty close to being a song worthy of the verse promise of “forgetting there’s a world when this record is on.” But the song is kept just short of being a classic Miley lead single by the chorus, with the repeated “The kids don’t want to dance” hook feeling somewhat aimless and anticlimactic, and the short synth bleats that punctuate the lyrics coming off as underproduced. Still a fun song and worthy potential hit, but one that never elevates to the truly soaring heights it seems capable of reaching.

An electric piano ballad with some of Miley’s strongest (and most vulnerable) vocals, “Orbiter” is the hardest-hitting of the slower songs on Bass Persuades. Lyrics like “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” have just that extra touch of personal feeling and specficity to them, and the arrangement does well to give it additional stakes with swirling synths and other atmospheric flourishes. The song feels like it has another gear to hit that it never quite does, but you could still see it being a real showstopper in her live set.

The unofficial closer on the album — though the “Bass Persuades” remix technically sees us out — “Snow” spends most of its runtime as another dizzy-sounding ballad with twinkling synths. But the song saves a little extra something for its final leg, as its arpeggiated synths get heavier in the mix and are mixed with a growling, Depeche Mode-like low end, while an increasingly disembodied Miley echoes “Together we both fall,” and hisses “It doesn’t get better.” It’s an intriguingly disquieting ending, and probably should have been the last thing we heard on the album.

The most obvious hit on Bass Persuades — and indeed, perhaps the album’s second single, as it arrived alongside a glamorous, skin-bearing black-and-white music video. As lovely and winning as Something Beautiful‘s “End of the World,” “Let’s Get Married” could’ve come with a musical assist from The Marias, carrying the same kind of blissed-out dreaminess as that L.A. quartet’s signature sound. It’s certainly not one of the album’s more challenging cuts, especially on its chorus (“Let’s go get married tonight/ Let’s get married/ I’m having visions of white”), but it’s a perfectly satisfying and successful pop song.

Certainly destined to be one of the most conversation-starting songs on Bass Persuades, “Innocent Ways” finds Miley rhapsodizing about her relationship with her wild-behaving sister, feeling alternately protective and resentful of her. Whether or not it’s intended to directly address her feelings about fellow pop hitmaker sibling Noah, the song is intriguing, with vivid lyrics like “Eight nights in a row she’s been in a crisis/ She looks just like me when she cries” delivered over a thumping electroclash beat. Definitely one of the tracks on the album you’ll want to replay almost immediately.

Following “Orbit” on the tracklist “Aftermath” starts off like it’s going to be Bass Persuades‘ second straight ballad, but unlike its ultimately earth-bound predecessor, “Aftermath” takes off early and often, bounding to life with a skipping trance beat and springy synths. And while some other songs on the album fail to build as you might hope, “Aftermath” continues climbing throughout its too-short 3:31 runtime, as Miley’s unusually Swiftian vocals frantically double on and began to contradict themselves (“You were mine/ You were never mine”). A truly next-level synth hook could’ve made it an all-timer, but as is, it’s still a clear album highlight.