There is no doubt that Miley Cyrus has dominated pop culture and the media over the past few months. Starting with her shocking performance at MTV’s Video Music Awards, Miley’s provocative outfits and questionable dance moves have sparked a worldwide conversation. However, Bangerz, Miley’s fourth studio album, proves that the singer does more than twerk and stick her tongue out.

Released on October 4th and debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, the album is the final step of Miley’s departure from her squeaky-clean image as Disney’s Hannah Montana. The expected club-friendly hits are present on the album: “We Can’t Stop,” the lead single of the album, is the ultimate party anthem, perfectly conveying party fun with lyrics such as “Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere/ Hands in the air like we don’t care.” The same attitude is present in “Love Money Party,” in which Miley disparages money while praising partying and alcohol. Miley collaborates with Britney Spears on the energetic “SMS (Bangerz)” to create a bad-girl anthem, although Miley’s poor attempt at rapping regretfully sounds more like Ke$ha than Nicki Minaj.

However, Bangerz also shows that behind Miley’s carefree persona is a girl who has dealt with heartbreak and loss. “Wrecking Ball,” rumored to be about her ex-fiancé, Liam Hemsworth, is a heartfelt ballad mourning a broken relationship. On “Adore You,” Miley shows her vulnerable side as she tells an unnamed lover, “When you say you love me/ Know, I love you more…Baby, can you hear me?/ When I’m crying out for you/ I’m scared oh, so scared.” On “My Darlin’,” Miley, accompanied by Future, dreamily sings of a lost romance. Miley is strongest vocally on the self-explanatory “FU,” featuring French Montana, in which she bitterly curses a cheating lover.

While at times the flow of the music sounds disconnected, the album is an admirable effort on Miley’s part to create a new sound and image for herself. As Miley croons on “Adore You,” “I just started living.” Such a statement leaves us wondering what’s to come for such a promising musician in this new stage of her career.

Rating: 75/100