Miley – ‘Bass Persuades’ review: the chameleonic star is no longer explaining herself

After Miley Cyrus plunged into the experimental and psychedelic with last year’s ‘Something Beautiful’, her 10th album ‘Bass Persuades’ is more plain-spoken in sound and ambition. Containing just nine songs and a remix, all kept under 40 minutes, it’s leaner, more direct and more obviously built for the dancefloor, but keeps the eccentric streak that made its predecessor so compelling. READ MORE: Spellbinding singer-songwriter Nomi. is finding her own frequency It arrives at a moment of reinvention for Cyrus: it’s her first album under new label Atlantic and first project billed simply as Miley. A slight tweak but a decisive statement from an artist who’s been a country-pop star, ‘Bangerz’-era provocateur, hip-hop dabbler and rocker – but now no longer seems interested in explaining herself. It’s the sound of a star well on her way to true diva status, in the lineage of Debbie Harry, Madonna and Cyrus’ beloved late godmother Dolly Parton. There’s an ease to this record, a breeziness to its energy and Cyrus’ delivery. ‘Bass Persuades’ doesn’t insist on anything: it just lets Cyrus be herself, her signature gravelly voice soaring over big choruses with matter-of-fact confidence. The ...