Review: Bangerz by Miley Cyrus

Well, something’s working: I wouldn’t usually review an outright pop album, but here we are, and here you go. Say what you want about how Miley Cyrus is testing the (blurred) lines of decency, but Bangerz – her “debut” record, as it’s her outright shedding the constraints of Hannah Montana – is a decent one. Some want to think it’s a trainwreck, but it isn’t. While it isn’t consistent, there are some things that make you go, “well this isn’t so bad after all”: the chorus to “We Can’t Stop”, the surprisingly powerful start to “FU”, the unforced feel of “#GETITRIGHT”. Well, that’s my highlight, precisely because it feels unforced; not glossy the way Miley likes it, but not tedious. The rest of the record is just okay, but it will wear you down, at least until you’re convinced that Miley is grown up. Which is probably the point. And what we should expect, considering how everybody’s not talking about the songs, like with similarly controversial Lady Gaga. [NB] | 3/5