Porter Robinson is unrecognizable in his newest album, a recklessly lovely dive into the torn pages of his thoughts—and the cleaning climb again to himself.
A dopamine-fueled existential disaster, SMILE! 😀 presents to followers a brand new Porter, a post-EDM realist bleeding with candor. The boy who as soon as tore up pageant phases with formulaic, rave-fueled electro is now a posh soul creating tender alt-pop that seeks to fix the center’s most tormented moments.
Robinson’s reinvention displays an artist unafraid to evolve, even via the vertigo of that strobe mild headache. Life within the public eye is a plank on which all artists need to finally stroll, and it is sadly too simple to develop nihilistic—particularly once you really feel endlessly misunderstood. Naturally, sacrifice and compromise develop into routine as they relinquish items of themselves to perpetuate a hole business picture.
Underneath these circumstances, SMILE! 😀 is the untethered stroke of genius that occurs when there are not any f***s left to offer.
On the album’s core is Robinson’s warfare with cognitive dissonance via the years. It is the musical equal of laughing at a funeral or crying at a rave—a fantastically uncomfortable reminder that ache and happiness are conjoined twins.
Maybe no monitor higher explores his inside turmoil than the nostalgic “Easier to Love You,” a deeply introspective billet-doux to his fractured former self. “I found a letter, ‘Dear future me / I promise I’ll take care of the person we’ll both be eventually / I’ll pick up painting and I’ll join the gym / I can’t shake the feeling that I’ll be happy by the time I’m him,'” Robinson quavers.
He is much more pensive within the lilting monitor “Is There Really No Happiness?,” which options further manufacturing from the red-hot digital music trio WAVEDASH. Right here, he pirouettes on the knife-edge between vacancy and ecstasy as he ponders a few world with no liked one.
And who may neglect “Russian Roulette,” the gorgeous single he launched in early-June? One of many album’s simple highlights, the synth-soaked monitor finds Robinson utilizing the metaphor of a lethal sport of probability to convey detachment and suicidal ideation within the face of relentless criticism. Each rousing refrain is shadowed by the nagging pull of gravity, like attempting to bounce in quicksand.
To that finish, the album is proof that readability is not attained simply. Dissociative issues are the earthquakes that topple our psychological structure, however Robinson reveals that you would be able to rebuild a firmer basis within the rubble.
Hearken to SMILE! 😀 under and discover the brand new album on streaming platforms right here.
Observe Porter Robinson:
X: x.com/porterrobinson
Instagram: instagram.com/porterrobinson
TikTok: tiktok.com/@porterrobinson
Fb: fb.com/porterrobinsonmusic
Spotify: spoti.fi/2Zu4oNS
