Plastic Hearts has arrived.
Miley Cyrus has been teasing us with a new album after dropping ‘Midnight sky’ in August, that gave us a glimpse of this new era of Miley. Like with her previous albums, she is showing us a new chapter of her story. This chapter is tough, independent, and wears a platinum blonde mullet.
Influences from Debbie Harry and Joan Jett run through the rocky beats in the tracks such as, ‘Midnight sky’, ‘Plastic hearts’, and ‘Nightcrawling’ featuring Billy Idol. She lets her voice go rougher, shows her frustrations and anger through ‘WTF Do I Know’,
“What the fuck do I know?/ I’m alone/ ‘Cause I couldn’t be somebody’s hero/ You want an apology?/ Not from me!”
In an Instagram post announcing Plastic Hearts, Miley admits this record has been in the making for 2 years. So it isn’t unreasonable to think that some of these tracks might be pointing to her ex husband Liam Hemsworth. In the Instagram post, she also explains how the wild fire destroyed her home and that changed circumstances for this album. “Everything has changed” she writes.
A more vulnerable side
“she is strong, she is back – but she also has these moments of questioning, sadness, and pining.”
Miley has to be tough to go through the trauma of losing a home, and a high profile divorce, but she reveals a vulnerable side through a couple of ballads, again there is some speculation to her and Liam’s relationship, but that aside- Miley opens up to us and shows that while she “was born to run”, she has been through the heartache. In ‘High’, Miley sings about dreaming of a past relationship, like we all do every now and again.
“Sometimes I stay up all night / ‘Cause you don’t ever talk to me in my dreams / And I think about eventually you’re holdin’ me / And dancin’ to the record like a movie scene”
Following on from that is the heartfelt, ‘Never be me’. You can hear Miley sing through pain but with strength, as she knows when a relationship just doesn’t fit. The tracks surrounding these ballads are far more upbeat but it is as if she is showing that yes, she is strong, she is back – but she also has these moments of questioning, sadness, and pining. But that is what humans do. We can’t all be tough all of the time and this album encapsulates that.
Rockstar collaborations
“You are walking out of the hairdressers with your freshly cut mullet and coloured locks. Ready to take on this new chapter.”
You cannot talk about Plastic Hearts without mentioning the star dazzling collaborations. Dua Lipa brings back the pop beats with ‘Prisoner’ that you know will be played in bars once we can enjoy ourselves again. The retro punk rock influence is obvious when there are so many icons that appear on the track list. ‘Nightcrawling’ featuring Billy Idol, is my jaw-dropping favourite track that should only ever be played at full volume and ‘Bad Karma’ features Joan Jett. Of course there is the most anticipated collaboration with Stevie Nicks for a take on ‘Midnight sky’ that interweaves perfectly with ‘Edge of seventeen’.
Plastic Hearts opens a window into Miley’s mind, the new era. Could this be considered a break-up album? Possibly. But more so that part of the break-up when you’ve thrown their clothes out, including the hoodie. You are walking out of the hairdressers with your freshly cut mullet and coloured locks. Ready to take on this new chapter.
Miley Cyrus’s Plastic Hearts is out now via Miley Cyrus/ RCA Records
Katie Williams
Featured image courtesy of Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons. Image license found here.
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