I remember about 15 years ago my kids used to watch this annoying TV show called Hannah Montana, you know the one about the teenager who lives a double life as a pop star? Well fast forward to 2020, the world is in a global pandemic and Miley Cyrus just proved to the world that she is bigger, much bigger, than a fictional pop star or even the daughter of Billy Ray…she’s a rock star and she wants, and deserves to be taken seriously as such.Always a talented artist, as an actor and a singer, Miley was easy to be typecast as a bubblegum pop singer who’s target demographic was primarily teen or pre-teen girls. But a few years ago Miley Cyrus started to come out of her shell and experiment a bit with her sound. A few experimental albums were released, her popularity grew but it just didn’t seem as natural as it should. Then came “Wrecking Ball” in 2013. The song and accompanying video were a clear transition for Miley as she declared that she was an adult and, almost demanded to be taken seriously…but still it didn’t seem like she was.
Miley has always been on my radar, it was hard not to pay attention when we were watching Hannah Montana every week with the kids. But it was her cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” in 2012 that really caught my attention. It showed a certain refinement and poise that was unlike anything we had seen from Miley in the past. Miley was clearly determined to make 2020 her year and kicked things off in grand form with a couple of jaw dropping performances. First it was the MTV Video Music Awards in August where she performed “Midnight Sky” and then she made headlines again in October with a killer performance of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” at the iHeart Festival.
On Friday any doubt that Miley can’t be taken seriously as an artist was cast out the window as she dropped her strongest album today and comfortably takes her place on the rock scene with “Plastic Hearts”. Checkout the video for her single “Prisoner” featuring Dua Lipa below
Straight out of the golden age of rock, this album feels like it was recorded 40 or 50 years ago. It feels like it could’ve been relevant in a time when groups like Blondie and Fleetwood Mac were topping the charts. The best part of this is that much of the music from that era remains relevant today and Miley just brought it back and made it modern again.
This album will hook you right out of the gate with “WTF Do I Know” and from there it’s a 15 song thrill ride which wraps with a killer cover of the Cranberries “Zombie”.
If you like female fronted rock from artists like Fleetwood Mac, Blondie and the Cranberries you MUST add this album to your collection. If you prefer poppy Hannah Montana styled music…throw it away and buy this album instead. It’s been a long time since I’ve found an album I can listen to over and over and not tire of but “Plastic Hearts” is definitely one.
Can’t wait to see what she’s got up her sleeve next! You can get “Plastic Hearts” here: mileyl.ink/PlasticHearts
