albums and tracks

Having spent most her life being more a brand than a human being, the girl behind Disney sensation Hannah Montana is finally creating her own self - Miley Cyrus. Fresh from pregnancy hoaxes and a controversial Vanity Fair photo-shoot, the aptly-named Breakout sees the world's most famous 15-year-old throwing her toys out of the pram and putting her own name into the spotlight. All the Disney kids have tried to pull off the move from acting to singing with varying degrees of success, but it's only Miley who has the songs and personality to make it work.

A cover of Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' may on paper sound like the worst idea ever, but somehow filling it with spiky strings revamps it into an anthem for 2008. And talking of anthems, the spectacular 'See You Again' shines as three minutes of perfect pop. Borrowing from Corey Hart's 'Sunglasses At Night', it includes the awesome lyric: "My best friend Lesley said 'oh she's just being Miley'". Daphne & Celeste, eat your collective hearts out.

Sure, there's the yawnsome pillow-cuddling ballad 'Bottom Of The Ocean', the Pink-lite 'The Driveway' and quasi-adult call to action 'Wake Up America', but Miley's Nashville twang sounds best when she's rocking out. The rebellious schoolgirl nature of '7 Things' never falls onto the wrong side of petulance, and the spooky production of 'Fly on the Wall' sounds just like the best bits of the B52's 'Rock Lobster'.

A mixed bag, but with occasional flashes of brilliance, Breakout is an album bursting with fun. It's doubtful Miley will be disappearing off our radar anytime soon.

Talia Kraines