It's been a while, so let's see what bite-sized stories we have to tell.
Miley Cyrus - Something Beautiful
I'm already concerned by the phrase 'visual album' being thrown around, because the idea that the music needs a visual component does not bode well. That is borne true with this first song, which takes the basic sonic template of "Flowers", and slows it to an absolute crawl. Miley's voice has plenty of room for her tone to shine, but the melodic component of the song is rather lacking. The music has hints of jazz, but mostly serves as background sound that does little to stand out. That puts the emphasis on Miley, which is fine, except for the fact that she doesn't have anything interesting to sing.
She croons her way through the song, showing that perhaps she could be a chanteuse if the fancy struck her, but better material will be needed. Her last album featured a couple of tracks that could fit into the category of 'torch song', which were exceptional. I wished she would have made the entire album in that mold, because it would have been a contender to be one of the best of the year. Perhaps I was wrong, because expanding beyond those couple of songs appears to show they were a fluke of time and happenstance.
I will not be holding out hope that this record is going to be the one that makes Miley into a great artist. This song tells me we are probably looking at another case of someone who thinks that making 'mature' music means stripping away everything engaging.
Ghost - Satanized
The last Ghost album was controversial for the singles being the worst Ghost songs to date. While the good songs were still good, I couldn't call it a good album due to just how bad "Twenties" was. So to say I'm wary of Ghost's inconsistency is an understatement. The first taste of their upcoming album is not giving me much more reason to have faith. While it is better than that song, it doesn't have the best elements of Ghost. Both the music and the melodies are rather jagged, with the start-stop bits feeling awkward in how they are randomly integrated. The one bit of melody at the end of the chorus is nice, but by that point it isn't enough. The section that is supposed to be our big refrain starts out not standing out at all, so the chorus is over by the time we realize it has even hit.
What I'm sure of is that the record will have a handful of trademark Ghost songs that give me all the melody and pop hooks I could ask for. Why those songs are being shunted aside for their weaker efforts as singles is something I don't quite understand. The huge swell that "Dance Macabre" or "Square Hammer" gave the band feel like a lifetime ago, and the band is now treading water because they don't need to grow anymore. That's sad.
Volbeat - By A Monster's Hand
I already got in trouble in another forum for discussing my thoughts on this song, but here goes; the new Volbeat single is good, but defies a basic tenet of good songwriting. There's a solid groove and a decent hook through the first half of the song. Everything is going fine, and then the song suddenly shifts feel and tempo for the solo, only to shift right back for a final chorus. Why? The impression it gives is that they had random ideas sitting around, and stuck these together because they were all that was left. What should have been done is to either slow the thrashy riff down so the tempo didn't shift, or bump up the tempo of the final chorus so the entirety of the song sped to the finish. In either case, the logic of the songwriting would work. As it stands, we're left with a track that sounds stitched together, that veers from one thing to another without giving us reason or context.
But apparently I'm pedantic and too cerebral, so pardon fucking me for not swallowing whatever music gets thrown at us.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Singles Roundup: Miley Cyrus, Ghost, & Volbeat
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