Porter Robinson - SMILE! :D - Album Review

For this album review, Porter Robinson delivers his most pop-friendly and self-consciously revealing album to date... for better or worse.

Best Songs: 'Cheerleader’, ‘Easier To Love You’, ‘Is There Really No Happiness?’
Worst Song: ‘Russian Roulette’, 'Year of the Cup', 'Kitsune Maison Freestyle'

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Porter Robinson - SMILE! :D - Album Review (EDM / pop)
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Spectrum Pulse is a music review / commentary channel, like colleagues Anthony Fantano of TheNeedleDrop, ARTV, Dead End Hip Hop, Rocked, Deep Cuts, Crash Thompson, Brad Taste, and plenty others, known for discussions of music, movies, art and culture.

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[minkeymouce]

I'll always respect your negative reviews, even if I disagree with just about everything you say. You've built up credibility over the years due to the kind of authenticity and honesty that you show in this review.

That being said, 12/10 Porter sweep AotY.

[brendan]

Seeing Mark actually smile in a thumbnail is bizarrely cute

[ElliYeetYT]

What’s kinda funny about the Pitchfork jab (even as flawed as it is) is that when Pitchfork themselves noticed it in their review of the album, they said it “takes a tongue-in-cheek swipe at an infamous joke review from Pitchfork’s early years”, so it seems they’re aware, in a sense of an “Ok, You Got Us” reaction that ‘joke’ review was a pisstake from them.






You get it? Pisstake, Becau- Ok I’ll stop.

[dukefan]

*compares porter robinson to the 1975*

i hate how this is right but I still felt attacked by it

[iBolt]

very balanced review. sonically this is my least favorite album of his because it's, like you said, caffeinated and bit crushed to hell. I like over half the songs on it. Yes this is an extremely conflicted post. but that's exactly how I feel about this album. It's very complicated

[mediocremedio]

I think the writing is very confessional and descriptive, perhaps that’s what conveys the impression that it’s “doing nothing with its themes”?

You get a keen sense that it’s neither Porter nor the fans that Porter is singing about but Porter-in-the-eyes-of-fans and fans-in-the-eyes-of-Porter. The “distance” is not to avoid being cringey in my opinion, just a necessary one when you consider how these images of one another are ultimately imperfect replicas and not authentic representations.

As for the sound of this thing I quite enjoy the crushed-up caffeinated stuff you mentioned. I think while it’s nowhere as creative as Nurture, it’s quirky enough to sustain repeated listens.

[traviscrawford]

Russian roulette in worst tracks is a hilariously wild take

[GDItsFils]

I personally liked Smile quite a bit, but I understand your point of view in your less optimistic review of the album. Actually, I agree a lot with you about Is There Really no Happiness and the fact most songs don't have as much groove as his older projects. Some songs still go hard af, of course, but not all.
I didn't really know the context of the Lil Wayne clip, so I'd say Year of the Cup is a bit more bitter-tasting now (already was the weakest song in the album tbh)

[cowmark]

I very much enjoyed the album. To me Nurture is a perfect album and one of my favorite albums and this just isn't. That being said, based on the teasers (I didn't listen to a full prerelease track) I thought I wasn't going to like it with the pivot in sound from what was done on Nurture, but it turned out to be an enjoyable album on first listen. We'll see how it holds up on repeated listens.

[doggobunni]

I feel the need to say he's not trying to make some grand statement with this album or Nurture. That was mostly about his struggle to make new music and this album is mostly about his own experience with his own fandom, and i think its pretty obvious which lyrics are supposed to be taken seriously, and which are intended to make people "cringe" (as he has put it). And i dont think it follows that both sides of this album should be taken equally as seriously just because they are presented together. Obviously whether you vibe with this approach is one thing, and i understand if you prefer a more consistent theme with all of one or the other instead of a mix.

I also think maybe critics and obsessive music listeners and explorers (like myself) can fall into the trap of assuming albums like this need to be up to the standard of a master's thesis or something to be effective, just because it explores a complex subject outside of the artist themself. Not to say it can't be done, and apparently that deep exploration has been done before - i haven't heard any examples so i guess i would have to look up info about that myself - but just because those thorough albums exist shouldn't make you assume another album is trying (and thus failing) to do the dame thing just because they share a topic. I say that because i think the majority of artists make music with their own feelings and experiences in mind, compared to the few that attempt to take discussion to the next level

[gayassReal]

year of the cup is NOT about not being able to show your uglier human side, nor is he whining about not being allowed to yell it his audience. the song is about why alcohol specifically was not good for him and how he regrets how he acted on it, (especially to his fans) but also is conflicted because it gave him confidence and led to him and his now wife getting together.

[gramlar]

Fair, but this was a pretty badly written review

[anamelessyoutuber]

Is this album any good for someone who's never listened to anything by Porter Robinson before?

[countyfactswailuigi]

Fantano and Mark having exact opposite reactions once again.

[brandonkey]

You sound like a political talk show host in every single review you've ever done

[aceguy]

Yea I think you got this one. The triple, double, quadruple ironic/sarcastic lyrics + cliche music ride this very dumb line that I don't think works well. Big disappointment to go from Nurture to this album, feels a bit like going from To Pimp a Butterfly to Damn in some ways although Damn pulls everything it sets out to do much better. I'm not sure if "reacting to fan perception" has ever been a formula for good music, a friend pointed out the lyrics feel solipsistic and I agree in that way. Way too much projection.

[MusicOrLoseItTV]

Just learned he’s a defender of artificial intelligence “art” so no thanks.

[fangirlonfire]

…well at least he liked Cheerleader 🥲

(srsly as someone who adores Nurture, i honestly agree with ur thoughts on his latest album, that there was something that felt iffy as i was listening to it. he’s in his “up in his own ass” era, when it doesnt work, it doesnt, but when it does, it does. Still like his production style and the hooks save the weird execution of the themes)