Music Review: Miley Cyrus, “Breakout” (Hollywood)
Rating: 50
A Disney acquisition currently more precious to the Magic Kingdom than Mickey Mouse himself, Miley Cyrus and her “Hannah Montana” character dominate pre-teen culture, and just as Cyrus’ series enters its third season, Cyrus has an eye on a future after “Hannah.” Much as Kelly Clarkson distanced herself from cheesy “American Idol” grandstanding with “Breakaway,” Cyrus intends for the similarly emancipation-themed “Breakout” to be the launch pad for her post-teen career. No chances are being taken: “Breakout” has something engineered for every pop taste, and while she’s partially put away “Hannah,” it doesn’t mean she isn’t still trying on personas.
The title track breezes along on an updated New Wave sheen reminiscent of the Go-Go’s, and that’s no surprise — “Breakout” was co-written by Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock. From there, Cyrus hits all the necessary marks: Avril Lavigne-style brat-punk (“7 Things,” “Simple Song”), synth-rock (“Fly On the Wall”), a twangy ballad (“These Four Walls”) and a selection from Mom’s old mix tapes (“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”). There’s even a ready-made dance mix of “See You Again” planted at the end, just to cover all bases except maybe Afrobeat and opera.
“Breakout” is currently the No. 1 disc in the U.S., but that should be no surprise — Cyrus was also the biggest concert draw of 2007, so “Breakout” needed to be pristine and tightly engineered to appeal to that massive and demanding base. Better executions of all this music can be found easily, but that hardly means “Breakout” won’t serve its purpose: the sound track for a girl’s bedroom, circa late-2008.
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Jeepers.
George Lang reviews Miley Cyrus. I guess I’d better tidy up the house before the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse show up.