Even if the musical community could succeed at viewing Miley Cyrus’ abilities objectively (and it’s hard, seeing as so much of her current public perception is oriented around her latest attempts to break bad), it would still be difficult to like her much hyped new album, _Bangerz_.
Similar to her ever-shifting image, Cyrus’ new sounds don’t piece together to form any concrete picture. Each track on her fourth studio album is lyrically generic; on an instrumental level, each is too different.
Does Cyrus want to be an auto-tuned rapper, as what “SMS (Bangerz)” and “Love Money Party” imply? Does she want to retain the sly, devil-may-care vibe of “Do My Thang” and “Hands In the Air,” in imitation of the likes of Ke$ha and P!nk? And what is she trying to do with the cow-bell, country-infused hip hop sounds of “4×4”?
Cyrus’ new ballads, which in the past have been her strong points, also fail to compete with “Wrecking Ball” (arguably the album’s strongest track). “Adore You” and “Maybe You’re Right” all exacerbate Cyrus’ vocal range in awkward, cringe-worthy ways.
But whether or not Cyrus cares about what people think of her behavior, she should at least care about making herself memorable as an artist, like the ones she features on her songs (established industry names Britney, Nelly and Ludacris).
After one too many public stints, controversial remarks and four contrasting albums that as a whole have covered every area of the music spectrum, we are perpetually left wondering: does Cyrus really have any idea what she’s doing?
_MOVE gives_ Bangerz _1.5 out of 5 stars._
