Miley Cyrus has commanded a large slice of the public’s attention for a while now, for reasons good, bad and weird. She’s undergone a remarkable transformation from twee Disney popstar to rebellious, largely naked, twerker and her exploits have recently earned candid, differing responses from Sinead O’Connor, Annie Lennox and Amanda Palmer.
But to truly appreciate ‘Bangerz’ - her fourth album and an unavoidable split in her discography - you have to ignore all the attention-seeking antics, Wrecking Ball nakedness and explicit dancing at the VMAs.
Cyrus’ vocals, throughout the album, are consistently strong and some of the hooks are incredible. But, and it’s a big but, ‘Bangerz’ is let down by the cheap composition of the majority of its tracks.
The slow, uninspiring opener, Adore You, is an immediate disappointment while the synthetic pop fodder of SMS (Bangerz) – a much-hyped collaboration with Britney Spears – is more than a little embarrassing. Even Big Sean’s involvement, on the inventively titled Love Money Party, can’t lift the incessant blandness.
Cyrus is absolutely embedded in modern culture and her lyrics reflect this, sometimes in a negative light. On 4x4 Cyrus is backed by what sounds like a kids’ nursery rhyme as she happily sings: “Driving so fast ‘bout to piss on myself.” Elsewhere, on FU, she attempts to reclaim her rebellious status: “I got two letters for you/One of them’s F/And the other one’s U.”
Lurking in the background are a couple of amazing tracks, those being the two singles that Cyrus has already released – We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball. The former is a full-on party anthem that it’s practically impossible to hate, while the latter takes a different approach as heartfelt vocals and tender lyrics come to the fore. The fact remains, though, that even free of all outside influence, ‘Bangerz’ is a pretty poor effort. And that’s all there is to it.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
