After the release of
Can't Be Tamed
,
Miley Cyrus
took a break from singing and focused on her film career for a few years, allowing her to make a big comeback to music at the tender age of 20. Like so many
Disney
starlets,
Cyrus
needed to distance herself from her tween pop past;
tiptoed toward a more adult persona, but
Bangerz
kicks down the doors. This is her first non-
album, and in many ways it feels like a debut, an R&B and hip-hop-tinged coming-out party that introduces
Miley
as an A-list pop star.
's guest list is packed with star producers, including
Pharrell Williams
and
Mike WiLL Made It
, and vocalists like
Britney Spears
, who cameos on the fizzy "SMS (Bangerz)."
has taken cues from more established pop stars in the past --
often evoked
Ke$ha
-- but one of the models for this album is clearly
Rihanna
.
's summer 2013 hit "We Can't Stop" was even originally offered to
, and they share a nasally buzz in their singing and a commitment to partying in their songs (if possible, "Love Money Party" sounds even more like a
-be than "We Can't Stop").
's take on R&B is most convincing when it's balanced with
' country and pop roots, as on the
Pharrell
productions "4x4," an improbable but entertaining piece of country-rap featuring
Nelly
, and "#GETITRIGHT," which is so bouncy it almost sounds innocent despite
's insistence that she wants to be naughty.
and company also spend plenty of time sampling other early-2010s trends, whether it's the wobbly, dubstep-like synths on "Drive" or the EDM-leaning ballad "Someone Else," but on every track, she sounds more mature than ever before. Despite its flashier moments, there are also plenty of ballads, something hinted at by the album's second single, "Wrecking Ball."
even opens with a slow song (the unabashedly romantic "Adore You"), which in its own way is almost as bold a move as the publicity events that preceded the album's release. Brassy empowerment jams like "Maybe You're Right," "Do My Thang," and "FU" sell
as an independent woman, and the album accomplishes that mission:
transforms
into a pop star who won't -- and can't -- be ignored as she rings in her twenties. ~ Heather Phares