Whether you love or hate the way she did it, Miley Cyrus has killed her “Hannah Montana” identity and reinvented herself as both a person and musician. Loads of artists would die for the freedom she’s gained musically and even more so the recognition she’s gotten from it. Miley is going by her instincts without hesitation and is succeeding wildly.
Cyrus’s fourth studio album, “Bangerz,” is as interesting to listen to as Miley herself is to hear about. Here’s my track-by-track breakdown of the ones you should star on Spotify and the ones you should leave very alone.
1.“Adore You”
Her opening track delivers some great vocals and is super cute if you’re,like, in love or something weird like that. This is my favorite on the record and an excellent choice for her number one – she’s emotional, mature, and she definitely makes you want to keep listening.
2.“We Can’t Stop”
Wait, haven’t you heard this one already?
3.“SMS (Bangerz)” feat. Britney Spears
Doesn’t deserve the album title and, who else thinks it’s time for Britney Spears to just calm down? Miley’s also kind of creepy when she kind of raps.
4.“4×4” feat. Nelly
A catchy, country-ish hoedown jam featuring Nelly. It’s one of those, “I’ll love this after I listen to it three or four more times,” tracks—so STAR. We miss Nelly.
5.“My Darlin’” feat. Future
Cyrus singing and Future rapping (Talking? Singing? We don’t know!) over a Mike WiLL beat. Future takes away from Miley’s performance, making this an average-at-best R&B tune.
6.“Wrecking Ball”
If I really have to talk about this one you’ve been under a rock for about four weeks.
7.“Love Money Party” feat. Big Sean
Cyrus and Big Sean make for a better collab than she with Wiz Khalifa/Juicy J on Mike WiLL’s “23.” Big Sean kills his verse, as though that’s a new development.
8.“Get It Right”
You can tell Pharrell produced this track after listening to this track for a whole eighth of a second. “Get It Right” is sexy, stylish, and wouldn’t have sounded out of place on JT’s “The 20/20 Experience.” My second best, although I’m partial to a track with a whistle.
9.“Drive”
Mike WiLL made this one a little too Mike WiLL – electronics detract from Miley’s emotional and vocal performance.
10.“FU” feat. French Montana
At first you’re like, Miley’s trying to be in Burlesque. And then she says “LOL.” And then a really weird beat to tie it in to the whole “Bangerz” theme comes in and then she starts screaming and you’re just like, okay, next.
11.“Do My Thang”
The ratchet track. We all knew it was coming. “Bang b*tch, you think I’m strange, b*tch?/It’s bananas like a f**king ‘rangutan, b*tch.” Enough said.
12.“Maybe You’re Right”
The autobiographical glimpse inside Miley and Liam’s broken off engagement song. It would’ve been nicer as a ballad, but a beat was thrown in to make the track cohesive with the rest of the album. To make it a banger, if you will.
13.“Someone Else”
The closing Mike WiLL Made It track is a great remix candidate, but isn’t quite resonating on its own. Much like a few other tracks on the album, Miley sounds good, the beats sound good, but there’s something not quite there to make the two coincide. Probably the less than stellar lyrics.