On August 30, Miley Cyrus revealed that she was releasing a free-to-stream album immediately following the 2015 MTV Music Video Awards. The album, “Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz,” is largely a collaboration with The Flaming Lips, and is an attempt to create a psychedelic album, departing from Cyrus’s pop background. Now, I’m a huge fan of The Flaming Lips (“The Soft Bulletin” is one of my favorite albums), and I’ve never really had problems with Cyrus’s music. So I was excited to listen to this album…a feeling that was shot down fairly quickly.

Let’s start with the good things about this album. The opening track “Dooo It!” is…how shall I put it? Odd. But do you ever hear a song that’s so weird you actually find yourself liking it? That’s what happens with this track. You really wouldn’t think a song that continuously talks about smoking weed would be a good song, but this song somehow pulls it off. In fact, the bridge to this song has to be one of the coolest moments on the entire album as Cyrus sings, “I feel like I am one with the universe.” Although, the ending lyric of the song is questionable.

The next two songs, “Karen Don’t Be Sad” and “The Floyd Song (Sunrise),” are slower, emotional songs. I will say that “Karen Don’t Be Sad” is an amazing song, and I will put it up in the top five of Cyrus’s best, being the most Flaming Lips-sounding on the album and what I believe to be the only track with lyrics that aren’t juvenile (more on that later). “The Floyd Song” follows “Karen,” which is about Cyrus’s dog that passed away a few years ago. The song is straight-forward and Cyrus actually sounds great.

So, there have been three great songs in a row, and I’m thinking to myself that the critics must’ve been wrong on this album. How stupid I was, because it all went downhill from there.

One of the biggest problems I have with this album is that so many songs sound the same: they are very slow with a psychedelic theme (and weed). And the problem with that is that after hearing the same stuff over and over, it gets boring very quickly. “Something About Space Dude,” “Space Boots,” “I Get So Scared” and “Evil is but a Shadow” are just a few examples of slow, monotonous rhythms with monotone vocals. They all. Sound. The. Same. And to play into this, most of the songs on the album are about twice as long as they should be. This album is over 90 minutes, with a lot of these songs being nearly six minutes long. It gets exhausting after awhile.

My next problem with this album is the lyrics. Now, I’ve never believed Cyrus to be a great songwriter. However, “Dead Petz” seems to be a new low in her songwriting. By the time I reached the song “Slab of Butter (Scorpion),” I was convinced that the theme of this album was to make the most nonsensical lyrics possible: “I feel like a slab of butter that is melting in the sun.” What the hell does that mean? 

“Pablow the Blowfish” has to be the worst song of the decade. I laughed the entire time because of how badly it was written. She sings about having a blowfish die, and then getting sad every time she goes to eat sushi. I’m not kidding. That is exactly what the song is about. I would suggest looking up the lyrics on your own time if you’re in need of a good laugh.

I wanted so badly to like this album, and I had high hopes. But with 75 percent of the album sounding the same, along with some of the most laughable and disgusting lyrics ever written (seriously, look up the lyrics to these songs), it’s incredibly hard to take this album seriously. And you Miley fans that are saying to me, “You just don’t get it,” let me explain something: I am all for artists doing something different; I was a huge supporter when Cyrus started getting edgier with her music as early as “Can’t Be Tamed.” 

I believe experimentation, in a creative sense, is very healthy. This album has three amazing songs, one or two OK songs and the rest are utter garbage. Just because an artist takes a new direction, doesn’t mean it should automatically be praised and it does not excuse the fact that this album too long, too boring and too stupid. Trust me, I get it.

Do I recommend this album? No. Look up the lyrics of the songs, and you’ll see immediately why this album is not worth it. But if you do listen to it and die of boredom, I’m not responsible.

Know of any recently released albums you’d like me to review? Email me at [email protected] with your suggestions.