Hayley Metzler
Staff Writer
Pop singer Miley Cyrus’s fourth album “Bangerz” was released Oct. 8, and I know I’m not the only one who was pumped for it, what with the buzz her first two singles “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” created.
The album was made available to stream for free on iTunes before it was released. There are 17 songs total. While there were some songs I wasn’t too impressed with, I have to say that, overall, I loved it.
“Bangerz” is by far Miley’s edgiest, most provocative album. It’s pretty much the polar opposite of Hannah Montana. “Bangerz” features elite hip-hop artists such as Midas-touch producers Pharrell Williams and Dr. Luke, Britney Spears, Nelly, Ludacris, Mike WiLL Made It, Big Sean, Future and French Montana.
This album shows that she’s really come into her own and she’s not afraid to be herself. “Bangerz” includes several heartfelt ballads along with some upbeat, party songs and more angry, rebellious songs.
One thing I really found interesting about this album was that there were a number of songs that sounded almost rap-like. She was never full-on rapping in any of the songs, but there were definitely some songs with rap-like qualities.
By now everyone has probably heard “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball.” Though “We Can’t Stop” is an undeniably great party song, it’s not my favorite. “Wrecking Ball,” however, is one of my favorite songs on the entire album. It has a raw, emotional power to it, which tells you Miley truly wrote it from her heart.
I really enjoyed the album’s namesake song “Bangerz,” which features Britney Spears. It’s kind of shallow, but it has a fun, flirty vibe to it. I personally think it would be a really fun song to cruise down the road to with a car full of friends. “Bangerz” is one of the songs that has a rap-like vibe to it, which I actually really liked.
“Adore You” is one of the slowest ballads on the album. It’s a sweet love song, but I found it to be kind of boring and not very catchy. “My Darlin” is another very sweet love ballad featuring Future. When I listened to it, it reminded me of the old John Mayer song “Stand by Me.” The choruses of those two songs are very similar, and I can’t help but wonder if Miley used “Stand by Me” for inspiration.
The majority of the album features fun, catchy, party-type songs such as “We Can’t Stop,” “Bangerz,” “Love Money Party,” “Do My Thang,” “Hands in the Air,” “4×4,” and “#GETITRIGHT.’”
All these songs would be great for setting the perfect party mood. My personal favorite of these is “Do My Thang” because it’s so sassy and rebellious. It would be the perfect pump-up song to work out to.
The rest of the album features songs that are on the dark, angry side, which are clearly about heartbreak and scorned love. These songs include “Wrecking Ball,” “FU,” “Drive,” “Maybe You’re Right” and “Someone Else.” I’m obsessed with the song “Drive.” I could listen to it over and over again. Not only is it catchy, but it’s powerful and emotional as well.
“FU” is an extremely dark song full of rage and angst. It’s an absolutely perfect song to listen to when you’re really angry at someone and all you want to do is smash something. But my favorite song out of all these would have to be “Someone Else.’”
It’s a song about heartbreak and disappointment and how going through that can change you so much that you feel like you’re a completely different person altogether.
This song contains deep, moving lyrics such as, “if you’re looking for love know that love don’t live here anymore. He left with my heart, they both walked out that door without me.” I would say that “Someone Else” is possibly my favorite song on the entire album.
Overall, I would highly recommend “Bangerz.” There are so many adjectives I could use to describe this album: dark, edgy, sultry, spunky, etc. But I would say “Bangerz” has a little bit of everything.
Cyrus’s new album “Bangerz” is worth a try, especially if you’re trying to overcome a broken heart and need to find solace through music, or even just simply looking for some fun, catchy songs to rock out to.
