I’m no Miley Cyrus fan, but I want to like this album.

I did like “Party in the U.S.A.,” and “The Climb” wasn’t too bad either. But Cyrus has changed throughout the last four years, and she is making sure everyone knows it. And if twerking on Robin Thicke during the VMAs and licking sledgehammers wasn’t enough, she is currently all over the news because of multiple raunchy photo shoots and a feud with singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor.

While no publicity is bad publicity, Cyrus is definitely walking a fine line between maintaining her status as a pop sensation and being outright annoying. But whatever opinions you have of her, it’s only fair to let her album speak for itself.

Cyrus’ description of her new album “Bangerz,” which she says is a “dirty south hip-hop” album, is misleading and couldn’t be further from the truth. The album is R&B and pop at best, with a few instances of rap.

The album is actually really good. The collaborations with Britney Spears, Big Sean and French Montana helped, but you can’t deny Cyrus has talent.

Her vocals sound amazing in “Adore You,” “My Darlin’ (feat. Future)” and “#GETITRIGHT.” She doesn’t use Auto-Tune, and her riffs are natural. Frankly, this is the best her voice has ever sounded. While it is a bit strange to hear her sing anything other than country, Cyrus proves she can hold her own outside of the likes of Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

In fact, the only country-sounding song on the album is “4×4,” a catchy track featuring Nelly. Cyrus sings, “I’m a female rebel, can’t you tell? Bang on the dashboard, just chipped a nail.” This track has a pretty good chance of becoming the third single off the album.

After “We Can’t Stop,” the second single Cyrus released was “Wrecking Ball,” which is a beautiful song. The emotion in it is very raw and real. In the video, Cyrus is not afraid to be vulnerable, unashamedly shedding tears before the camera.

Given her recently ended relationship with ex-fiancée Liam Hemsworth, you have to wonder how much of “Wrecking Ball” is autobiographical. The music video of a naked Cyrus on a wrecking ball may turn some viewers off — and it rightfully should — but never before have we seen such an open and honest side of her. Yes, she’s rash and in your face, but we can’t look away.

“(SMS) Bangerz (feat. Britney Spears),” the opening track on the album, shouldn’t have seen the light of day. It sounds like the b-side of “Push It” by Salt-N-Pepa, but it is nowhere near as good. This song seems like it was put together for the sake of filling the album, and Spears’ verse doesn’t help, either.

However, I do like hearing their voices together because the two have great chemistry. Maybe another collaboration will happen in the future, but this song will definitely not be a hit.

That “dirty south hip-hop” sound Cyrus claims she was going for is ever-so-slightly hinted at in “Love Money Party (feat. Big Sean).” Her delivery is great, and she even gets philosophical in her lyrics that define love, money and partying. She doesn’t actually rap though, which is a little disappointing because this song is basically begging for it. Cyrus does, however, demonstrate some of her bars in “Do My Thang.”

All in all, this is not a Disney album — so don’t expect to hear Hannah Montana. The album is memorable because Cyrus is branching off and doing new things, and we can’t hate her for that. Miley Cyrus is all grown up, and we are all just going to have to deal with it.

Published on October 14, 2013 at 11:31 pm

Contact Elaina: ekcrocke@syr.edu