“Throughout Plastic Hearts, Cyrus recognizes that she’s in an industry that praises shape-shifting—as a kid, her Disney reign centered around that. Now she’s realized that changing and complexity doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice yourself. Although some of the rock iconography might seem plucked from the Guitar Hero catalog, these tracks demonstrate she’s released herself slightly from excessive idealization or demonization on this album. She’s not our hero, but she is a fantastic performer. With a wink to her Disney days (and maybe the pastiche albums that followed), she eschews inauthenticity, singing “They say it’s bad karma when you live a double life” on “Bad Karma.” Plastic Hearts is the best Cyrus’s voice has ever sounded, and maybe it’s because this album feels like she’s performing for herself first and foremost.”