Miley Cyrus has truly achieved the best of both worlds when it comes to her music. Cyrus has given us an array of work starting with her first album after departing from Disney Bangerz, which consisted of bubble gum pop all the way to her more country-inspired album Younger Now in 2017. She has continuously kept her fan base on their toes, and Cyrus caught everyone off guard when she dropped her cover of the seminal Blondie song Heart of Glass. To no surprise, her fan base was left begging for more rock-inspired music, and luckily for them, she did not disappoint.

After high demand from her fans, Cyrus released Plastic Hearts showcasing many classic rock icons such as Stevie Nicks, Billy Idol and Joan Jett. The album meshes a goofy and fun tone that is quite out of the box, while having serious undertones. The album’s beginning song is poking fun at the concept and institution of marriage with lyrics such as “maybe getting married just to cause a distraction.” This lyric is both powerful and unapologetic, much like the rest of the record which she uses to make a mockery of those who have judged her for her previous actions concerning her relationships. Dan Ellis, a Milford senior, described it as Cyrus “taking on their ridicule as a badge of honor.”

Miley frequently uses lyrical jabs throughout the other tracks, and the song Golden Gstring is by far the best example of the ferocity she displays with her lyricism. This song is arguably the perfect mix of ridicule on societal problems, while doubling as a personal ballad for Cyrus. Through this piece, she manages to come to terms with the power that she has found within her own skin. She holds society accountable for the inequalities created within the lyrics, “That’s just the world that we’re living in–The old boys hold all the cards and they ain’t playing gin.” Through these lyrics, she is trying to show that in the world, men “hold all the cards” which leaves others feeling like they’re stuck in a different game, without the necessary tools to play.
In the wise words of Hannah Montana herself, “nobody’s perfect.”This can clearly be seen in two of the songs featured in Plastic Hearts. Although this album contained many lyrical masterpieces, not all of them were hits. Prisoner ft Dua Lipa, although commercially successful, is one example of this. The song was both repetitive and boring. While featuring an artist such as Dua Lipa on an new album isn’t a bad decision considering her success and wonderful vocals, with the lineup of other classic rock artists seeing her among this list seemed out of place. The track lacked the same emotional storytelling the others held. These other small out-of-place details, in addition to the bland instrumentals, this song is basically an artistic flop.

Another bad example is Bad Karma ft Joan Jett. This song lacks all of the same things as Prisoner, and the one thing that could have saved this song was the subpar bridge, but even that fell short of expectations.

There was a decent amount of buildup, but that’s all the song truly consisted of. The bridge was anticlimactic, and one can only imagine the disappointment from this. Just because you pick up the pace and lose the breathy tone in your voice does not mean you have really hit a sweet spot that is the audience’s anticipating ears. These two tracks aside, this album is filled to the brim with emotional ballads and feel-good songs.

Cyrus and her future career with this style of music is entirely up to the fans. Whether you have been a fan of Miley in the past or not, this album provided thought-provoking lyrics with beautiful vocals.
Once again, Cyrus broke boundaries and showed that no matter the genre, she will find a way to shine.