I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME

On Noah Cyrus’ emotive second album, I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME, she immerses herself in the rich tapestries of anthemic folk music and alt-country, recruiting a formidable list of guests to help her realise this bold vision. Blake Shelton comes through on the pedal-steel-heavy campfire duet “New Country”, and Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold brings some crunch to the swooning ballad “Don’t Put It All on Me”. Among these strong vocalists, Cyrus more than holds her own, tapping into harmonic power to create truly memorable moments throughout the project. Elsewhere, she recruits cult indie-folk star Bill Callahan for album closer “XXX”. Though the veteran songwriter has one of the most recognisable voices in music, Cyrus serves as a perfect foil, tracking his low register with a soaring, confident performance. When their time runs out, they cue up a stirring fiddle solo to bring about the outro, offering up one last ode to an era Cyrus pays homage to with respect and her own unique twist.