Miley Cyrus’ newest album Plastic Hearts, released November 27, 2020, brings us 15 new songs by the singer/songwriter. The album is a departure from Cyrus’ typical pop-country sound. Her previous album, “Younger Now,” stayed closer to Cyrus’ country roots combined with a youthful pop sound. This is her seventh studio album, and coming three years after “Younger Now,” shows an evolution of her style and a reason for the wait. 

The new album has a much more of a hard rock sound. To do this, Miley partnered with 80s icons on multiple tracks. For example the song “Bad Karma” pairs Cyrus with hard rock icon Joan Jett. Billy Idol is featured on the song Night Crawling, and his voice is destined to bring everyone’s parents right back to the 80s while attracting a new era of followers. Cyrus partners with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks on the song “Edge Of Midnight” that features an 80’s bassline, and electronic drums.

The title track “Plastic Hearts” highlights the heavy basslines and electronic drum sounds of iconic 80s bands as well as contemporary pop artist Dua Lipa for a truly remarkable and fresh sound.  

Cyrus continues to develop this vintage sound on her solo tracks. The first track, “WTF Do I Know” has Miley coming in with her classic low, raspy voice, while the instrumentation switches to a finger-picking guitar, one of very few country sounds on this new album. It’s a great start to the album, integrating her old and new style, and showing us how well this singer/songwriter can blend different genres to create her own refreshing sound.

One thing music fans can appreciate about Miley Cyrus is the experience of growing up along with her. Over the years, she has been through many changes, as we all have, and she manages to reflect these changes in her music. Miley’s beautiful vocals can be found on every album, and “Plastic Hearts” is no different. It’s a reflection of the artist’s signature talent and where she finds herself now — looking forward while remaining true to her country past.