Miley Cyrus has never been one to play it safe. Over the past decade, she’s made a career out of shedding skins, moving from Disney star to tabloid fixture to unpredictable pop artist to rockstar. With each release, she’s promised a clearer version of herself, but Something Beautiful, her ninth studio album, feels different.

Cyrus described the album as a “healing” experience, something meant to “medicate a sick culture” through sound. She’s spoken about its “frequencies” and the idea that it might make listeners feel something physical, not just emotional. To go with it, on June 12th she’s releasing a visual companion presented as a pop opera inspired by The Wall by Pink Floyd, meant to tie the work into something cinematic. So far, if you listen to the album on platforms such as YouTube for example, the result is less of a concept film and more of a collection of highly stylized music videos broken into three acts.

Something Beautiful blends influences from across Cyrus’s career but manages to feel cohesive. The album does resemble Pink Floyd for the first couple tracks of it, but as it goes by, it leans a bit more on Madonna (“Every Girl You Ever Loved” with the narration of Naomi Campbell is a personal favorite) or even The Abba (“Easy Lover,” originally written for a past project and reworked for this album, leans into glam rock textures with a touch of the 70s). Songs like “Reborn,” “Walk of Fame,” and “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” pull from 1980s European pop, hi-NRG, and disco, with just enough modern edge to feel current.

As someone who’s followed Miley Cyrus since the Hannah Montana years, watching her evolve has always felt strangely personal. Each album marks a different version of her: the rebellious teen, the wild party girl, the heartbroken romantic, the woman learning to love herself. That shifting identity can be disorienting to the casual listener, but to those who’ve grown up alongside her, it makes each release feel like a check-in, almost validating, like you aren’t going through it alone. Something Beautiful is no different. It’s mature, sincere, and somehow still light on its feet, is not really the album you put on in a department store, but the album you show your guests in your exclusively cool after party.

As a fan of both fashion and music, it’s hard not to admire the thought that went into the album’s references and collaborators. It may not fully deliver on the Pink Floyd-inspired promises, and the pop opera label feels more like aesthetic framing than actual structure. But there’s substance here. The nods to disco, house, glam, and classic rock are thoughtful, intentional, and well-executed. A pleasant overall experience.

It’s not radio-forward, TikTok trendy or designed for maximum streaming, meaning it might slip under the radar for many listeners. But for those who care about art in all its forms it’s a delicate and rewarding piece of work.

Ranking my favorite tracks:

1. Pretend You're God
2. Easy Lover
3. Every Girl You've Ever Loved (featuring Naomi Campbell)
4. More to Lose
5. End of the World
6. Reborn
7. Interlude 1
8. Walk of Fame (featuring Brittany Howard)
9. Prelude
10. Something Beautiful
11. Give Me Love
12. Golden Burning Sun
13. Interlude 2