At this point, we’ve all
grown accustomed to Miley Cyrus’ spiked blonde pixie hairdo and skin revealing
outfits, but let’s not forget this is the same person who used to sing “The
Climb” dressed in jeans with her simple brunette locks. Style wasn’t the only
thing to change as her music also took a rapid and provocative evolution thus
signaling the death of Hannah Montana and the birth of a tongue-wagging,
twerking creature named Miley. Like it or not, Miley has been able to grab
everyone’s attention from her “Wrecking Ball” music video, VMA performance, and
straight-up crazy antics.
Just to show how
vastly Miley Cyrus has been able to spread her online presence, people were
12 times more likely to read stories featuring her twerking VMA performance as
opposed to Obama announcing his plans to try and bomb Syria. Clearly, she’s been
able to get the American public wrapped into her world of madness, but with the
excitement surrounding her new album, Bangerz,
reaching a high point does she pull off the game-changing, redefining statement
she’s been working for?
The simple answer to this
is no, however, you will see that it’s definitely a start.
To start off the new
chapter in Cyrus’ musical career is the downbeat track “Adore You,” which
highlights a more mature, emotionally involved side that her first single “We
Can’t Stop” didn’t particularly touch upon. Although the song doesn’t falter
much lyrically, the beat to the song isn’t mesmerizing and could easily be
forgotten after listening to her other tracks. Not much needs to be said for
her next song “We Can’t Stop” since it was undeniably one of the biggest pop
songs this summer. It’s party anthem whose feel good vibe is a strong indicator for
how the rest of the album is set up.
Miley calls upon her pop idol Britney
Spears for the album's title track and that's enough star power to get the
smallest of fans to give the song a listen. The song comes off as gimmicky with
lyrics of “I'm
flying high up on a bird like a phobic" and “They
ask me how I keep a man, I keep a battery pack” and seems to be a waste of Britney Spears talent.
Cyrus revives some of her
country roots in “4x4,” a collaboration featuring guest vocals from Nelly and
the producing talents of hit-maker Pharrell Williams. Besides “Wrecking Ball” and “We Can’t Stop,” this song looks like one
of her strongest, yet oddest tracks to come from Bangerz. The musical arrangement is simple and extremely catchy
when meshed together with the lyrical story of a “female rebel” trying to get
her man some bail money. Cyrus’ first number 1 single on the Hot 100 may have
reached such heights due to its vocal talents or it’s glaring breakup message,
but I think her naked body on a wrecking ball probably did the trick. The
timing for the release of “Wrecking Ball” couldn’t have been any better and was
able to become VEVO’s most viewed music video in 24 hours with over 19 million
views. The other two tracks that make an impression are “Drive” and “Maybe Your
Right,” which capture Miley belting out superior vocals to rhythms and beats
that, for the most part, are complimenting to her voice.
Many of the songs on Bangerz are more refined and textured
than anything Cyrus has previously released, but that doesn’t mean they will be
preferred when compared to her cult hits “See You Again” and “Party in the
U.S.A.” Instead of completely defining her own musical style, she stays true to
her pop roots while adding on different musical vibes like country and R&B
that end up diversifying her music. This album doesn’t solidify a distinctly
unique music style one would automatically assume is Miley Cyrus’ when they
first hear it, however, that doesn’t really matter as long as you consistently
put out chart-topping, crowd pleasing hits, which is something her music is
bound to do.
Grade: B-
I definitely think everyone should check out her new music! Can't knock it until you try it, and it is good! http://smarturl.it/MileyCyrusStream