This post was updated June 1 at 7:54 p.m.

Miley Cyrus has truly come through with something beautiful.

Cyrus’ career is defined by reinvention. From the pop-rock of her Disney-adjacent early career to her rock-star attempt in 2020’s “Plastic Hearts,” Cyrus is an artist who has committed to many bits. On her new album “Something Beautiful,” Cyrus mostly forgoes her pop-hit tendencies in favor of remarkably layered and lengthy instrumentals that lend nuance to a familiar narrative of desperation for love. The result is the most distinct and artistically driven project of Cyrus’ nearly two-decade career.

The project begins with the spoken-word “Prelude,” which can best be described as poetic. At the center of the piece, Cyrus says, “Your hands can’t save the things that have already been dissolved into air,” a mantra that tells listeners that what’s done is done and it’s time to live on and find love elsewhere. What’s more compelling than the lyrics, though, is the production. In what sounds like a lo-fi leftover from “Illinois” by Sufjan Stevens, the instrumentation builds orchestral melodies until a shaky bass disturbs the undulating layers. Tension slowly builds with Cyrus’ words until it releases into a wave of string-led orchestration with jolts of industrial percussion in the background.

“Prelude” seamlessly ushers in the album’s title track. The verses are classic, sensual R&B snippets that recall previous Cyrus ballads like “You” from 2023’s “Endless Summer Vacation.” The definitive percussion in the verse is evocative of Weyes Blood’s “Twin Flame” and makes for an interesting enough listen until the chorus crashes with dissonant horns among a vicious wall of sound that is distinctly 1970s-esque. The intense instrumental fluctuations seem to reflect the innocent, then intense love Cyrus feels for the subject of the song, oscillating between playful seduction and passionate lust and making this one of the best songs of her career.

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“End of the World,” the third song on the tracklist, mixes glistening synths reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” with a pulsating 1980s-style synth-pop bass. These elements lend themselves to a joyous pop song about insisting that a partner lives more in the present. The digestible nature of the song does not take away from its artistic merit, as Cyrus and her producers were able to sprinkle in additional instrumentation and a key change in the bridge to spice it up.

The fourth track on the album, “More to Lose,” yet again switches genre, this time to slow pop-rock. Grounded in a glittering synth drone that recalls “Casual” by Chappell Roan, “More to Lose” tells the story of a lover who has a hard time coping with how easily her partner was able to leave her. On top of the further instrumental diversity, this track showcases Cyrus’ diverse vocal ability as she ranges her delivery from delicate verses to desperately belted chorus lines. It’s a welcome reminder of her capacities as a vocalist, and her controlled raspiness enhances the distraught narrative of the song.

From here, it becomes unclear where the album could go. “Interlude 1” feels cinematic, but its jittery percussion over ambient chimes is more confusing than anything. The following track, “Easy Lover,” is a solid string-kissed soft-rock song, but the tune is moderately disappointing given how fascinatingly diverse and immaculate the beginning four-track run was. “Interlude 2” only adds more confusion as it feels dance-infused and would fit at an underground, experimental rave. The following “Golden Burning Sun” is undeniably hooky, but the production is muddled at best. While quality itself doesn’t completely plummet, this middle run is not necessarily memorable.

Brittany Howard, the front woman of rock band Alabama Shakes, breathes new life into the album at the start of “Walk of Fame.” If rock band Model/Actriz tried to make a cover of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” with lyrics about Miley Cyrus being cool and famous, the outcome would be this track. As crunchy synthesizers hit sporadically through the verses, Brittany Howard’s soaring vocals alternate and fuse with Cyrus’ to deliver a self-empowering dance number that re-engages the listener in the album.

[Related: Album review: Kali Uchis’ ‘Sincerely,’ artfully explores love, lacks sonic diversity]

“Pretend You’re God” finds Cyrus begging her lover to at least lie that he loves her, craving a sort of blissful ignorance of believing her lover would “recreate the stars” for her. At the end, when the lover disappears, Cyrus repeats “I’m haunted, I’m haunted / he’s missing, He’s missing” as uncomfortable kick drums and distorted guitars make the declarations tense. As the instruments resolve into a Wolf Alice-esque rock resolution, Cyrus declares, “You’re lost in my soul like God.” The line ties together one of many engaging lyrical narratives that Cyrus pens across the album.

From here, Cyrus delivers a string-tinged dance-pop odyssey that spans more five than minutes. “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” fuses a synth- and horn-driven melody with a speedy drum pattern to create an addictive dance cut. Naomi Campbell, the international supermodel, acts as Cyrus’ perfect wingwoman in this song about knowing one’s worth in the face of a clueless man. Campbell’s interjections play on the ballroom language and attitude, adding self-love to reinforce the lyrical theme of confidence.

Nailing the landing with “Give Me Love,” Cyrus wraps the project with its most acoustic cut on a track about giving up material wealth for the pursuit of love. Though an all-too-familiar narrative of desire and finding satisfaction in internal validation, Cyrus made the clichés her own on “Something Beautiful.” Weaving themes of desire and confidence into these tumultuous then celebratory tracks proved wildly successful despite a few mundane cuts. Held together by consistent themes, recurring string passages and the seamless flow of the tracklist, “Something Beautiful” is Cyrus’ most intentional and artful project to date.

In an era defined by the viral moment, it is refreshing to see Cyrus’ commitment to enhancing her musicianship above all else.