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The media report on everything that Miley does: if she holds hands with a guy, she had better answer to the Concerned Press Of America as to what kind of example she thinks she's setting The Children and to the gossip blogs as to what kind of floozy she is ("oh my goodness, teenage girl's private photos contain evidence she may know young men, CALL THE MORALITY POLICE") and understandably, she probably finds all of this a bit upsetting or at the very least odd.

So, like a lot of popstars, she's written a song about it. There's been a lot of this in recent years, with everything from Jack White having a whinge about people talking to him in bars to Fergie saying she's not perfect and never claimed to be and then Britney crushing all previous efforts with the snarling tour-de-force that was 'Piece Of Me.' And now Miley's having a go; 'Fly On The Wall' could, at a slightly wonky face-value, be taken to be about a particularly possessive boyfriend but it doesn't take a genius or the (rather brilliant, if a bit 'DO YOU SEE???') video to suggest the idea that it might possibly be a tiny little bit directed at the media:

The good thing about all this, of course, is that 'Fly On The Wall' is a brilliant and terrifying romp through claustrophobic menace. It starts off INCREDIBLY LOUD, continues being INCREDIBLY LOUD and is possibly the first Disney-endorsed song to feature downtuned guitars. It rocks, it screams, it creeps up behind you and makes sudden loud noises.

The most extraordinary thing about it, in fact, is how insanely loud it is; the distorted guitars of the opening riff reappear at every turn, accompanied by unmelodic snarling; this is not what one classically expects from a Disney progeny. This is not even what one classically expects from a pop song. This is, y'know, kinda metal actually. Maybe eighties metal but still.

The verses, on the other hand, are pure pop; fun, cute retro girl group pop, gently catchy with spritely melodies and then- OH NO, IT'S THE CHORUS AGAIN. All the more sinister, of course, for the saccharine nature of the verses; this is an old pop trick but when it's done well, it still works like a dream.

And through it all, Miley sounds aggressive, girlish and terrifying; although her voice still sounds older than she is, she isn't pretending to be an adult here and the overall impression is of a very powerful little girl who will crush you like a bug.

It doesn't answer the issues of her fame, her over-exposure, the potential and past invasions of her privacy (and let's not forget this is all happening before she's even over the age of consent in the US) and it doesn't even really tell anyone to back off, much less say "bring it the heck on!" in the same way 'Piece Of Me' did. So in a sense it's meaningless, but when something's meaningless THIS LOUD and THIS FAST, with bits as joyously catchy as the "if you were my boy. Friend. I'd be true to you" bit from the second verse, then that doesn't honestly matter.

Download: Out now
CD Released: February 16th

(Hazel Robinson)