Porter Robinson — Nurture — Album Review
Electronic | Trance | Alternative
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
Following what was essentially a week off for me, I was determined to hop back on to reviewing some interesting and awesome projects. And alongside the newest effort from Alfa Mist, the American DJ that is Porter Robinson was next on the agenda.
I had not properly listened to any musical material from Robinson. However, the name did ring a familiar bell. Along with the intriguing album cover design, it definitely felt like enough of an incentive to push me ahead in terms of giving this album a shot.
Much like with the Alfa Mist album, I spent the day before New Music Friday listening to the teaser tracks Porter Robinson had put out in the lead-up to his brand new album Nurture, and it was definitely safe to say that I was impressed.
The overall aesthetic that Porter Robinson seems to be championing through the sound of those teaser tracks kind of felt like something that wouldn’t conventionally be my cup of tea. However, I could feel such a strong sense of charm and uniqueness from those three teaser tracks, that I simply couldn’t help but adore the festive mood that each of them brought to the table.
This translated really well onto the full record upon its release. The vast majority of Nurture’s tracks really emanated a festival-ready aura, thanks to its vibrance and warmth. From the very get-go, it felt apparent that Nurture was the kind of album that perfectly reflected the time of year in which it has been released.
I also strongly feel that Nurture is the kind of album that, for the most part, gets its uniqueness spot on. By adding a somewhat accessible flavour to its colourful whimsicality, Nurture manages to still be wildly unique, whilst not completely shoving its uniqueness in the listeners face. It still feels like the kind of project that listeners would feel comfortable with, in terms of embracing its energy, but at the same time, it most certainly stands out from the majority of trance albums, with its pseudo glitch-pop feel.
And while I also appreciated the folk inspiration that went into this record as well, I feel that the more classical-folk type tracks such as “Lifelike” and “Wind Tempos” didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the album as much as I was hoping. The album already carried that wholesome folk-like mood in its more experimental tracks, so to simply focus on just that would’ve made for an even stronger record in my opinion.
I also have to hand it to the lyrical side of Nurture, for also bringing a very feel-good energy. The most shining example of a track that really had my attention lyrically has to be “Musician”, with its positive message of never being afraid to hold on to your creative passion, in a world that may suggest you should give up on them. But aside from just “Musician”, this album has a wide range of amazing tracks that push the colourful, vibrant, and feel-good energy further and further with each listen.
I definitely need no more convincing that Porter Robinson is an immensely creative and talented individual; Nurture is all the proof I needed.
Favourite Tracks: Look at the Sky | Musician | do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do | Mirror
Least Favourite Track: dullscythe
Sample Sized, LLC | Mom+Pop
Enjoyment: 9/10 | Memorability: 9/10 | Atmosphere: 9/10
Uniqueness: 8/10 | Satisfaction: 8/10 | Narrative: 8/10
