Setting the pace for preteen entertainment value is one thing. Parlaying that into mass-market musical merit as a young woman is something entirely different, and elusive, as Miley Cyrus shows us on her latest album "Can’t Be Tamed.”
Accordingly, this release is posited as Cyrus’ coming out party, artistically and personally. She’s different now, she begs of us to recognize. Gone are the Disney days of "Hannah Montana.” Cyrus stands emboldened by success and poised to break free of creative micromanagement.
Mostly, though, this high-energy dance-themed album affirms that the 17-year-old Cyrus still has plenty of growing up to do. She sounds 17 going on 15, still caught up in vague love songs slathered in studio software instrumentals and radio-friendly pacing.
Just as the first track "Liberty Walk” thunders forward and Cyrus sings about liberating herself from a life of lies, she falls prey to brainless hooks and dated beeps and buzzes meant to indicate some futuristic technology. The production room tricks reveal artistic complacency rather than any sort of creative catharsis.
Add to the mix the fact that Cyrus shares writing credit with a large team on the majority of the songs, and it only deepens the mystery. How do you claim artistic independence while maintaining a co-writing team that outnumbers the musicians? The group-think songwriting effort bears little entertaining fruit on the tepid title track "Can’t Be Tamed.”
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Going with a cover song like "Every Rose Has Its Thorn” doesn’t help matters much. The Poison power ballad is one of the highlights on an album filled with low ones. Cyrus sings passably here, but there’s no unique energy that she can claim as her own.
Girls in the sleepover age range have gobbled up Cyrus-branded offerings in the past. But it’s tough to imagine how she can sustain that level of appeal as she migrates to a more mature and discerning audience. "Can’t Be Tamed” represents Cyrus in transition, but it’s certainly nothing she’ll be remembered for recording.
CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "Robot” smartly shows that Cyrus is aware that manipulation is a part of the game. Be molded, sell units. While it’s hard to see how she’s truly breaking free from her self-described "hollow shell,” the attempts feels earnest and the message is well-intended.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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