Nurture
by Porter Robinson

From Anti TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/19/2021 20:06 | #269919 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This was surprisingly pleasant listen for me. Please don't immediately reject my comment here because I'm giving it 7.5/10 stars. This is coming from someone who normally has no tolerance for the really formulaic EDM that's so popular with people who fail to find music beyond Spotify premade playlists.

I once heard the term "influencer music" tossed around to describe the EDM I just describe. You know, where you're browsing social media and see a montage of attractive individuals on vacation and the film color saturation makes everything seem brighter and cleaner and all they're doing is either doing basic touristy things or drinking hard seltzers? And in the background is the intentionally uplifting EDM following the formula of buildup to bouncy-bright bass drop? Yeah, I thought this was going to be a whole album of that crap but I'm happy to say it's not. It's a pleasant blend of EDM with folktronica that doesn't stick to the formula so heavily. It still does, but it's not as blatantly obvious. The folktronica sounds makes Nurture sound very lush and playful. And I love how the vocal performances are *slightly* buried to they aren't piercingly in your face like normal mainstream EDM and pop music.

Coming from someone who openly dislikes cheesy EDM, this was pretty good. I'm sure others will like it even more. (Edited)

From Mercury TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/27/2021 00:47 | #269010 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

(Happy, at times nostalgic, electropop album. Despite loving much of it and feeling a certain sense of giddy happiness at its best parts, some of the deeper cuts feel aimless and disjointed and that pulls it down a good bit.)

I’m of 2 minds regarding this much anticipated Porter Robinson album. On one hand I feel it is a joyous and reassuring and cotton-candy- sweet 59 minute banger that simply is one of the best electro pop albums I’ve heard in awhile. On the other hand I feel depth is missing in the compositions and in the songwriting and especially the flow of the album. On songs like “Something Reassuring”, “Musicians” and “Look at the Sky” there is a rush I feel, kind of a mental boost. And the General sound of the album is quite nice and warm and I like it. I like it a lot. But on other, more glitchy and instrumental songs mostly, I find myself losing interest and feeling like the music is somewhat interesting at best and aimless filler at worst.

Still, the highs of the album and the way it’s recorded and the way it sounds and the fact that it is without a doubt one of the more uplifting and childishly happy albums I’ve heard this year, makes it an absolute no doubt recommendation. And the main gripes I have are very likely due to my own tastes and General ambivalence toward glitchy electronic music. Perhaps at some point I’ll get into that world of music and then return to Nurture and find those bits equally excellent as the more straightforward electropop singles. We shall see.

Favourite album of all time for me. Every single song has me tearing up with unparalleled beauty within its melodic content, simple but effective harmony and wonderful use of sounds. Not a moment went by that made me feel bored.

One of the best releases of the year, no idea why it’s so low here

"Nurture" is wrapped in glorious optimism. Robinson takes lush production and uses it to generate a feeling great hope. Strings and guitar sprinkled among chirping electronics and soaring effects. On "Dullscythe", the piano is cut and pasted into different places creating a excellent collage of sound. The vocals are a bit high pitched and feel like a standard EDM "Happy vibe". Despite this, the unending optimism of the record is charming like a warm spring day.