Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times noted that the album favored a "grittier, hip-hop-inspired vibe" instead of the "glossy electro-pop" from her previous material, and further opined that "We Can't Stop" "still astounds; it might be the calmest, most clear-eyed rebel yell since Janet Jackson's 'Control.'
Kitty Empire from The Observer was more negative of Bangerz, opining that the project "feels stitched together in the dark, and the attention-seeking begins to grate."[REF]