Miley Cyrus recently released her newest studio album, Plastic Hearts, and I will be the first to tell you that it is sooooo good.
The album has 15 songs on it, all of which she co-wrote and some of which are collaborations that feature artists such as Billy Idol, Dua Lipa, Stevie Nicks and Joan Jett, and two are covers she has recently performed.
This album is a really new sound for her. It has a rock feel, but there is also some power pop happening, paired with a little bit of disco, even. She really has embraced the edgy sound and lower tones that her voice has, while not losing the high notes that we have come to associate her with.
The album is outspoken and angry at the way society has attempted to box her into different things, and it’s honest about where she feels she has fallen short in relationships, but it is also fun and challenging of people’s thoughts of her. It might be my favorite album of hers, honestly.
On this album, there are some songs that quite a few people think she wrote about her previous relationship with Liam Hemsworth, and maybe she did. But either way, the vulnerability in her music is not a new concept.
In “WTF Do I Know,” she sings about having to leave someone in their own misery and that she’s sorry for it. In “Angels Like You,” she has some lines that are full of apologies for “ruining everything” and “not being what you need.” In “Prisoner,” her collaboration with Dua Lipa, she and Lipa sing about being stuck in a relationship and not being able to let go of it, even if it is toxic.
“Midnight Sky” was her first single off of this album and in this one, she sings, “Lotta years went by with my hands tied up in your ropes / Forever and ever, no more.” By now, most people know that Miley and Liam were together off and on for several years, so it’s safe to say that those are confirmed.
“High” is one of my favorites on the album, specifically because it really is heartbreaking. She sings about fighting to stay awake because in her dreams, her past love doesn’t talk to her. The song is beautiful, but it describes those times where all you can do is imagine what it would be like to be together again.
“Never Be Me” is another one of my favorites. It’s honest, but it is also a little bit hopeless. The beginning is her warning someone that she is not what they are looking for. “If you’re looking for stable / That’ll never be me / If you’re looking for faithful / That’ll never be me” but as the song is ending, the lyrics transition to “If you think that I’m someone to get up and leave / That’ll never be me (hard as I try).”
“Gimme What I Want” is simply about a one night stand. “Gimme What I want or I’ll give it to myself,” she writes. In an interview with Zan Lowe from Apple Music, she talks about pretty much deprogramming herself from instinctively getting into relationships. “Hate Me,” while this one could be most directly to her ex, Liam, it is the most interesting to me. The lyrics, while just a little bit morbid, are about how curious she is to see how people would respond if she died, and if that would be enough get through to the person who isn’t talking to her. The lyrics “I wonder what would happen if I die / I hope all of my friends get drunk and high / Would it be too hard to say goodbye? / I hope that it’s enough to make you cry / Maybe that day you won’t hate me” are forlorn, but the song’s edit doesn’t let the listener dwell for too long, as its quite upbeat.
My favorite line of the entire album comes from her collaboration with Joan Jett in “Bad Karma.” First of all, their voices sound like they were meant to be together; I genuinely can’t get over how good they sound. The opening line is “You may think I’m ghostin’, but the truth is I’m a liar” and just cease to exist every time it comes on shuffle. This song has the most rock ‘n’ roll feel to it, for sure. Her covers of “Heart of Glass” by Blondie and “Zombie” by the Cranberries are literal masterpieces, just FYI.
My absolute favorite song off of this album, and potential favorite song of Miley’s ever, is “Golden G String.“ Since the album came out, and in her interview with Zane Lowe, she talked about how she wrote the song a few years ago and it stemmed from her realization that Donald Trump, and men like him, also just potentially men in general, really do “hold all the cards.”
In the song, she responds to the many rumors that people have made up about her relationships, the opinions that people have had about how she expresses herself and how critical people have been towards her as a musician and as a leader. With the lines, “I was trying to own my power / Still I’m trying to work it out,” she writes about how difficult it can be to navigate the waters of being a woman in a world where men have the last say. This song is about feeling judged and scrutinized, but managing to hold onto who you are in spite of it.
Overall, in my opinion, it’s a great album. I’ve listened to it everyday since its release.
