Review: ‘Plastic Hearts’

Cyrus brings personality and versatility to seventh album

Mollie Banstetter, Layout Editor

Track list of “Plastic Hearts” as shown by genius.com (Genius)

Miley Cyrus has always been in the spotlight. Even before her hit Disney sitcom, Hannah Montana, her dad Billy Ray Cyrus was a big name in the music industry, which put a lot of eyes on her at a young age. Though Cyrus has seemingly already gone through her rebellious phase, her new pop-rock era rebels against the pop box she has been put in.

During the summer, Cyrus performed Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” at the iHeart Music Festival. This cover blew up quickly, with fans demanding that she release it on streaming sites. Cyrus promptly released her cover along with the album’s first single, “Midnight Sky.”

In the “Heart of Glass” and “Midnight Sky” videos, Cyrus revealed a new short blonde mullet, bold red lips and all black attire, dawning a new era that is 80’s rock reminiscent. Cyrus plays with different sounds for her albums all the time, like hip-hop, pop, country and slightly psychedelic, but this is the first glimpse of rock that fans have gotten from her.

In this album, love plays the villain. She loves someone but knows she’s not what they need, alluding to her failed romances in ballads such as “High” and “Angels Like You.” These songs have a soft tone of melancholy that is delivered through her powerful vocals, reminiscent of the rock band Heart.

Cyrus’ raspy voice transports you into the world of rock she has created through songs like “Bad Karma” featuring Joan Jett, “Night Crawling” featuring Billy Idol and “Gimme What I Want.” These songs feature heavy drum beats and guitar riffs that amp, perfect for blasting in the car

Two covered songs are featured, “Heart of Glass” by Blondie and “Zombie” by The Cranberries, along with a “Midnight Sky” and “Edge of Seventeen” (by Stevie Nicks) remix. While some were a little confused as to why they were added onto the album instead of released as singles, they fit nicely and flow well within the record.

In my opinion, I feel that Miley Cyrus’ seventh studio album “Plastic Hearts” is a great album that fits her voice quite nicely. It was an unexpected genre choice coming from Cyrus, but even more unexpected was her powerful range. With all of Cyrus’ reinventions of herself over the years, I would be pleased to see her stick with this new Rock n’ Roll era.