Music Reviews

So, I never really got the hype around Porter Robinson – funny enough, I was actually introduced to him through his not as critically aclaimed EP „Spitfire“ which I was very conflicted on – there were few key tracks I reall dug, but besides that there wasn’t much of anything that really stood out to me. His first full length LP „Worlds“ is a different story though – it was a much more cohesive and enjoyable record overall, but still, even there, something just wasn’t clicking – I absolutely adore some of the cuts of of there, but the whole project didn’t do it for me nearly as much as it di for others. Now here we are, in the present day, with Robinson’s second full length LP „Nurture“ and this may be my low expectations going into this, but Jesus, this is the most cohesive, mature and fully-realised Robinson has EVER sounded on a full-length project.

Now let’s break this track by track, there is really a lot to unpack here. For starters the opener „Lifelike“ doesn’t even feel like a Porter Robinson, more like some sort of critically aclaimed post-rock outfit, really a beautiful collage of sounds and strings. The way it tranisitions into „Look a the Sky is also just mind-blowing, almost as much as the song itself, beacuse this is easily some of the best synthpop I have heard in a very long time – one of my favorite songs of the year by a long shot. „Get You Wish“ follows on the same formula as the last song with more piano-driven beat, it feels much more natural (or should I say nurtural? Okay, I’ll see myself out now…), which is a very weird thing to say about Porter Robinon’s music, considering how electronic and robotic it usually sounds – this album is really just a hybrid of these two sides and it just clashes together in this beautiful mix of sounds and colours. The song „Wind Tempos“ takes a much more ambient approach with it’s sound, sort of like a really long-winded (get it) interlude, that transitions smoothly into „Musician“, a song with a much more Porter Robinsons sound then what we have been shown so far, but still with a few minor twists on it – it’s really glitchy, glossy and light-hearted, like a heartfelt hug from a robot. The song „do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do“ starts of as a more mellow, more guitar-driven tracks, that quickly reveals it’s true collors with once again more glitchy production, insane walls of keys and whatever else is burried in the mix and it all just manages to work somehow. The highlight of the song „Mother“ really is the subject matter and the lyrics, more then the sound of the song itself – Porter here expresses his love for not only his mother, but for both of his parents, it’s really the emotional highlight of the album. Now the song, if you can even call it that, „dullscytche“, is a really all over the place instrumental, that only finds it’s path towards the end of the song, it’s and intresting blend of sounds – the first half almost sounds like a leftover out of an „Igorrr“ project, for some reason. The song this interlude of sorts tranistions into „Sweet Time“ is a really heartfelt ballad, that just makes my eyes wet everytime it comes on, the lyrics and the way they are delivered are really what sells me on this one – it doesn’t have to be crazy experimental for it to hit hard. Now around this point in the album I sometimes get the feeling the songs are just sort of repeating themselves – „Mirror“ is structually and also sound-wise basically an almost identical copy of Get Your Wish. That doesn’t make it a bad song, but it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The song „Something Comforting“ really lives up to it’s name, it’s probably also one of the most epic songs on here, it’s really an ear-hug, a really anthemic one at that. The way the drop just kicks in is out of this world (which is fitting, because it also sounds like something straight out of Robinson’s last album Worlds). The follow-up „Blossom“ is possibly the most nature-sounding song on this whole album, just a nice little guitar ballad, that serves as a nice breath of fresh air before the final leg of the album, not much else to say about it. Now the song „Unfold“ picks the intensity up again to the maximum with a much more anthemic sound. The drums sound really crisp and the bridge is something straight out of a Kanye album, before the final explosion that just blows most of the drops on „Worlds“ out of water. The closer „Trying to Feel Alive“ really sums up the whole feel this album is going for – just trying to feel anything in the emptiness that surrounds us in these difficult times, it screams like a sign of hope, that there are better times ahead of us.

So from the reception this has been getting so far, I feel like people are just not listening to this the right way – instead of focusing on individual tracks, try to listen to this as one whole cohesive expirience, then it all just comes full circle and suddenly makes sense, even if the sound is not necessarily for you, please at least give it a shot, it’s a really comforting and anthemic album that just fills me up with hope everytime I listen to it.

Light 8/10