An album I have been really enjoying recently is Bangerz by Miley Cyrus. I am obviously very aware of the hate Miley Cyrus has been getting - mostly for her risqué music videos - but honestly, her music is very authentic and in my opinion she is extremely talented. And for the record, I love her new hair. I'm not going to go into how unnecessarily judged and overly criticised she is though; this review is on her album not her!
The Album Cover
I can't tell you how much I love this. The colours really compliment her music, and the overall feel of the artwork really relates to the songs. I also think that she herself looks stunning, and I dig her style. Sure, it's way different to Hannah Montana, but come on - that was like 7 years ago now - she's allowed to change!
The Songs
The first song on the album is Adore You. This is one of my favourites. It has a really distinct feel; it's quite slow and has lovely piano chords in the background. In the chorus there are minor string harmonies which I really love. You feel the emotion in her voice in this one especially. Here are some lyrics:
When you say you love me, no I love you more
When you say you need me, no I need you more
Boy I adore you
I adore you
There aren't many layers to this song, as it's quite acoustic in contrast to the other songs on this album, yet she still manages to create a rich and harmonic sound. It's very, very different to We Can't Stop, which I'm sure many of you have heard.
Next on the tracklist is We Can't Stop. I do enjoy this song, however the lyrics are somewhat tasteless in my opinion.
To my home girls here with the big butt
Shaking it like we at a strip club
Remember only God can judge ya
Forget the haters cause somebody loves ya
And everyone in line in the bathroom
Trying to get a line in the bathroom
We all so turned up here
Getting turned up, yeah, yeah
Despite being turned off by the lyrics, I find her voice and the music to be very uplifting and pleasant. There are lovely harmonies in her singing, and I particularly like how in the chorus the chaos stops and the drum has been removed, leaving just piano and her lovely voice and some other refreshing composites. It gradually builds up again, and gets really catchy! I could just listen to this song over and over again!
Another favourite of mine has to be Wrecking Ball, the sixth track in the album. The beginning of the song is very bare, consisting of just light rebounding chords; and her soft, somewhat delicate voice. I think this song is actually about her being delicate herself, about how she has been 'wrecked' by love - which I find really captivating. I love the depth of the lyrics.
We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain
We jumped never asking why
We jumped never asking why
We kissed, I fell under your spell
A love no one could deny
After the sparse yet still emotionally fulfilling start, everything stops - and she comes bounding in with "I came in like a wrecking ball" including huge bass and drums. It is really dramatic, and really gets the 'wrecking ball' image in place. One of the reasons I like this so much is because of the imagery and depth. This is just one example of how truly talented Miley Cyrus is - she is way underrated.
The Genre
The album is generally listed as Pop, but also integrates elements of both hip hop and synth pop. In some songs she does some rapping, like in Love Money Party. I think that one thing that makes this album so great is the sheer diversity of all the different songs. None of them sound the same, and that's a sign of a great musician.
The Negatives
I don't really have many negatives, hence why it is one of my favourite albums at the moment, but I can list a few.
- If you don't like rapping or heavy synth/disco numbers, then you may not enjoy Bangerz, as that's about what half the album consists of. I'm not against it at all generally, but some of the songs fall a bit too much on the rap side for me to fully enjoy.
- For me, a turn-off is the adverse lyrics - as I'm sure many others will agree with. But I don't like to think too much into the words; as long as the music is good!
- This does not apply to me at all, but I have some friends that say they dislike her voice. I understand that it's an either love or hate kind of thing (where I come under the love side) so I have to take that into consideration for you guys! In my view, I absolutely adore her voice. It is both velvety and scratchy at the same time, and she can use it in so many different ways! When she sings high it sounds so strong and smooth and powerful, and she can also sing with endearing limpidity.
Thank you for reading my review - I hope you found it informative!
I seriously recommend this album, even if you hate Miley Cyrus, you should at least give this wonderful music a chance!
-buy Bangerz here-
I made a song inspired by Miley's new style.
You can check it out here
You can check it out here
