That Eric Alper

GRAMMY nominated artist, songwriter, musician and producer Noah Cyrus has released her career-defining sophomore studio album I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME (RECORDS/Columbia Records).

Rooted in Americana, indie folk, and country music, and co-produced by Noah Cyrus alongside trusted collaborators Mike Crosseyand PJ Harding, I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME is an other-worldly, humbling and heartfelt listening experience, mixing ethereal and whispered vocals with full-throated declarations, all tied together by gorgeous organic instrumentation; pedal steel, banjo, dulcimer, mandolin, cellos, and acoustic guitars framing Noah’s smoky and distinctive voice.

“For a long time, I couldn’t really trust in my own choices. I had to learn how to make decisions for myself and make that transition into adulthood,” Noah Cyrus, now 25, says. “But I’ve found who I am, I know who I am, and this record shows what I had inside me all this time. This album is me.”

Paying homage to members of her family and nature in ways both subtle and overt pair effortlessly with Noah and Crossey’s immersive interpretation of country music throughout the album. “When I was a kid, I was so enamored with how each instrument came together with the beat to create a memorable moment in a song, like the outro chorus in ‘Don’t Put It All On Me’ and ‘New Country.’ I remember asking my father, ‘Dad, what’s that called?’ and he said, ‘Sissy, that’s called dynamics,'” Noah says. “I think of that every time I walk into a studio to make my own music. I’m always focused on sonics and dynamics.”

The album opens with “I Saw the Mountains,” a rousing tale of recognizing and communing with the beauty in nature. As a child of Tennessee and California, Noah was always outdoors, and often on horseback. “The harmony between people and the earth is really taken for granted,” she says. “My dad taught us from an early age to connect with nature and the animals that inhabit it.”

On “Don’t Put It All On Me,” a song her brother Braison wrote for her, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, one of Braison’s favorite bands joins Noah. “My brother observed our family dynamics and how in some ways I’d take it all upon my shoulders and he wrote that song from his perspective,” she says. “We’ll always be there for each other, and I wanted to honor him with that performance.”

“Apple Tree” embodies the album’s aesthetic. Over a brooding piano melody, Noah sings, “Love is a bottomless pit/And because of you I’m falling forever in it,” evoking the gothic wordplay of inspirations like Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Near song’s end, she unleashes a cathartic, wailing vocal before ceding the spotlight to a voice from long past: that of her grandfather, Ron Cyrus, who is heard reciting a hymn written by Eldon Lindsey Cyrus, Noah’s great grandfather.

“All of my thoughts turn back to days of childhood… My father and mother, sisters and brothers, I never dreamed how far we’d roam,” Noah’s grandfather, whom they called “Pappy,” says in the vintage audio sample that inspired the album’s title. “When I hear that part of the song, I see my mom tucking me in, I see us with my dad up on the hill by the fire. Memories of us all together flood my mind,” Noah says “That’s something I really hope for. Death itself doesn’t scare me, but the chance of never seeing my loved ones together again after death, terrifies me.”

She also brings to life the very first song her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, ever wrote. “With You” is a crisp electric-guitar ballad about undying devotion: “Just listen in the wind and know that I’m your friend/And always with you,” she sings. “My dad is one of my biggest influences,” Noah says. “He turned me on to so many great songs and artists. My musical inspirations came from somewhere, and more often than not, it’s been him.”

“Way of the World,” with its easygoing groove, is reminiscent of Noah’s favorite song by Bob Seger, “Against the Wind,” as Langley and Cyrus trade lines and lean into the track’s free-spirit vibes – it’s reminiscent of the groundbreaking Trio album by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. The lyrics underscore Noah’s mature writing style, as she charts a life from birth to its end: “You can’t return to the safe space you lost,” she sings, “From your mother’s womb/Into the chaos of a cold hospital room.”

On “New Country,” Noah plants her flag of independence, with harmonies from Shelton, whose appearance co-signs Noah as a true country songwriter. “All these eyes on you/Waiting on you to fall/Cause the box they put you in/Just don’t fit you anymore,” goes one lyric. Elsewhere, she writes about being unable to ever go back: “Then you have to find new country.” “It’s a song about finding a new place in life, about walking on your own two feet, and realizing that change is the only thing that’s constant,” she says. “The only way out is through.”

On I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME Noah Cyrus continues to walk, confident in the knowledge that she’s finally found herself and hopeful that listeners will too.