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Miley Cyrus' VMA performance was a chain of degrading icons, wasn't it? Robin Thicke grinding with Hannah Montana, Miley jousting a foam finger where it had never been jousted before - even the inventor of the foam finger himself felt the need to speak out against the gross misuse of his invention.
Cyrus' latest offering 'Bangerz' is certainly the final nail in Hannah Montana's coffin, but it's also the aural equivalent to the twerk, with the twerk being more a cry for attention than holding any particular merit in itself.
'Bangerz' is basically a series of awkward collaborations peppered with breakthrough moments of genuine, well-produced pop. Naked hammer licking aside, 'Wrecking Ball' and 'We Can't Stop' are signs that Miley does have the talent to exceed her Disney days and make edgier pop songs if she so wishes. It's the desperation with which she pursues this and insists upon and declares it at regular intervals that makes 'Bangerz' more of an unconvincing and contrived effort than a genuine transformation.
'4x4' sees a bizarre appearance from Nelly with the song chundering along with the country-style refrain 'round and round and away we go' giving the impression of a misplaced nursery rhyme. And then, just in case we hadn't already got the picture, Miley comes in declaring 'I'm a female rebel, can't you tell?' It's the same need to assert herself as a remoulded, sexually aware 'rebel' that's present from opener 'Adore You', which self-consciously asks the question 'Are you listening?'
'SMS (Bangerz)' featuring Cyrus' self-proclaimed idol Britney Spears is more like an uncomfortable reminder of the potential dangers in chasing a 'grown up' image. 'Bangerz' isn't a bad album, and I'm all for the casting away of Hannah Montana. It's the gimmicks that stop Miley's 4th album from being an organic progression into an edgier image.
Distracting collaborations interspersed with unnecessary bouts of auto-tune (the girl can sing!) and a constant need to assure herself and the world that she's a 'female rebel' prevents 'Bangerz' from being the convincing 'coming of age' album it could have been.
