Miley Cyrus is no stranger to headlines, but does her music stand up to her antics?

The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards host surprised fans by releasing a new album after a spirited performance during the awards show. The album, "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz", streams for free online, which is an unexpected treat to her fans that she announced after singing her single "Doo It."

"Everybody, listen up! My new album 'Miley Cyrus and Her Dead Petz' is online for free, right now!" Miley called out to the VMAs crowd.

The hype is real, but critical reviews of the 23 tracks on the album are positive as well.

"This is Cyrus's vehicle," Boston Globe said. "This is not the tongue-wagging pop tart who's forever mugging and provoking on social media. These new songs allow her to contort her persona into something unexpected: She's a confident singer - communicator is a more apt word - determined to conjure a broader spectrum of expression."

"Yeah I smoke pot, yeah I love peace, but I don't give a f***, I ain't no hippie," Cyrus warbled at the beginning of the album. The rest of "Dead Petz" is equally dripping with a strange blend of experimentation, inspiration, attitude and a sweet pop appeal.

New York Daily News acknowledged the singer's creation, saying that there's "a lot of creativity" despite the stoned-out lyrics, and that "sober choices clearly came into play."

Atlanta producer Mike WiLL Made-It worked with Cyrus in this passion project. The two first worked together on a Beatles cover "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and remained close after.

Cyrus praised her musical mentor in a recent interview with New York Times. "He's everything in the world - you can't even define us. I am 100 percent in love with Wayne, and Wayne is in love with me, but it's nothing sexual in any way. That would be the grossest."

"Dead Petz," which cost a measly $50,000, did not cost her label RCA Records anything. This gave Cyrus the license to create something that's truly her own. As Business Insider explained, "It's a win-win for everyone - Miley got to go nuts on her passion project without any pressure to move units, and her label still has her locked up for what will ostensibly be more mainstream albums down the road."

Miley is offering a peek into her offbeat character and oft-criticized liberal choices. Whether it's her naked selfies, girlfriends or choice of music, the 22-year-old will be doing what she wants.

"That's what I've got the luxury to do," she explained to New York Times. "I can just do what I want to do, and make the music I want to make."

But, she's quick to defend her new album from those who will criticize it as a rebellious act. "This music was not meant to be a rebellion. It was meant to be a gift."

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