Although I love this album a lot more than you do, I totally understand and respect all of your criticisms of it. The lyrics are definitely cringey at times and I don’t think it’s anywhere near as interestingly textured as Nurture is. I haven’t read any of the comments, but hopefully they’re being reasonable and respectful. Keep doing your thing and I’ll keep watching !

Perfect review.

As someone who went into this album expecting to not enjoy it at all (I'm typically only a fan of conventional electronic music, and rock is one of my least favorite genres overall), I have to say it has grown on me substantially. Your points are all very valid though, and I think it just boils down to whether the listener is bothered by the intentional clichés and the ironic attitudes of the album. I mostly care about musicality and production, and surprisingly, I enjoyed almost every song at least somewhat on those fronts. The standout for me is "Is There Really No Happiness?" which, I agree with you on, it the most Nurture-esque track here. It's one of my favorite songs of the year so far. However, tracks like Kitsune Maison Freestyle and Perfect Pinterest Garden really didn't do much for me at all. As an overall album, I have mixed feelings on it, but thanks to it giving me that one standout track, I am very grateful. Also, I completely agree with you that Porter deep down probably is more passionate about indie-pop/indie-rock than electronic music, a way I subconsciously always felt when trying to listen to Worlds, which musically has much more in common with indie-pop/indie-rock music of its time than EDM, despite its synth-heavy production style. That pretty much goes hand-in-hand with his attitude at the time about EDM being inferior artistically to other types of music. For all of those reasons, I never loved Worlds as much as most other mainstream electronic music. Thankfully, he's changed his opinion on EDM, and I can sense it in the music, which now feels more like an embrace of other styles than an "F you" to EDM. The musicality still more closely resembles non-electronic genres than it does electronic music itself, but now I can enjoy it as such rather than comparing it to the EDM I love and being left disappointed or even offended.

Aw this album worked well for me personally so it's definitely disheartening to hear you didn't manage to get out as much as I and the rest of the album's fans did :( though watching the review, I definitely understand where you're coming from in terms of the lyrics. Personally while there are definitely misses I agree with you on I think the attempts at being ironic / humourous were fine and tackling the parasocial relationship with his fanbase work to me was quite interesting and sometimes decently vulnerable (though I definitely think he is a bit terminally online... but you know, stones, glass houses). But regardless I can see the angle you're looking at them and if they're annoying enough to be turn-offs I wouldn't hold it against you or anybody who thinks the same way. For me even if the lyrics are taken at their worst case (and I'm personally mostly okay with them anyways) I really liked the sonic direction he went with this. I'm not even a rock music guy myself but the mix of bitpop, emo / shoegaze and his usual electronic music style is not only just a natural direction from Nurture as you mentioned but also done pretty masterfully. Very few skips instrumentally especially for the first half with the chiptune-esque chorus breaks. Very fun and satisfying, and even on the admittedly weaker, slower points like the closer it's still rather pretty to listen to. It's definitely no Nurture but I do think it's a good step forward for him, at least sonically as his own fit ^^ Sorry to hear that you've been hounded by the more rabid Porter fans especially with the Worlds review!! (for me that just tells me how his fanbase is and why some of his lyrics are the way that they are though, haha) This was a very insightful and understandable review regardless and even though I disagree with the score I like how you explained and the effort you put in to explain your perspective a lot, so keep up the good work!

Hey wait, I remember the first iPod commercials and the song was the amazing “Take California” by the Propellerheads. Was there some earlier commercial I missed? Great review, though I really liked this album.

Ok it's about time I leave a comment as I've been watching your videos since the Force Majeure review, very good I might add. I thought you completely lost it until I saw the title of this one.🤪

Great review. I enjoyed the album a lot on first listen, but the more I think about the lyrics, it has soured on me a bit unfortunately. Stuff like that ending on Russian Roulette is so bizarre and cringy on repeat listens. I feel like a lot of the concepts on it would work better if he dropped the irony.

Just as a thought Wonky. Since you brought up a redux review, you did a porter Robinson's Worlds, it got me thinking. You should do a Redux review of Madeon's Adventure. I personally want to know a lot more of your thoughts and opinions on that album, and I think making a separate video on it will help a lot. Especially the deluxe version of the album with some of the bonus tracks

Nice review. Epic album. It didn't get the recognition it deserved compared to Timeless, possibly due to the label it was released on (it should have been signed to a bigger label). I think it's hard to compare to Timeless but if I had to choose between them, I'd go for Black Secret Technology.

At first I thought you were going to attempt to hold that creepy horror movie smile through the entire review lol. And I'm guessing you already tried except that given you said this Porter Robinson album was a headache and a half, that probably would have given you twice as many headaches. It's interesting that you dropped Fantano's name. Usually you're the one who will rate an album with a higher point value than his rating (case in point: Narkopop by Gas which he gave a 2 while you gave it a 7.5). And yet here you're doing the opposite where he gave it an 8 and you're giving it a 4.7. The enigma of musical tastes. Alas though, I only previewed the first two tracks through the music videos and I'll admit that I had a similar WTF vibe. And I had just listened to all of Nurture yesterday just a mere few hours before discovering your review on Porter's new album, which I also learned about yesterday as well.

I think the albums pretty good personally but I wouldn't blame anyone at all for disliking it, it's undeniably flawed especially when compared to Nurture.

Good review... and it is pretty amazing that your video got somehow in the lyric video. :D I liked Nurture a lot, but this sounds a lot different and not really my style. But please ... no more jumpscares where I am not sure whether you were posessed by the monster from the movie "Smile" :D

I'm on the same boat as you here. I've never loved Porter Robinson's previous work (hell the EP he put out under the moniker Virtual Self is better than anything under his own name personally) but i did recognize the potential for greatness in them. With this album though, i felt like he missed the mark. Many of the songs come off as one-note and tedious and i'm not too fussed about the vocals or his approach to production this time around. Funnily enough though, Knock Yourself Out XD is easily my favourite off the whole album so i have to disagree with it being your least favourite hehe

I personally feel like this album while goid goes for a bit too long imo, could just be me being a no attention span gen z guy but wurn it hits, it god damn hits. Also voodoo people especially goes hard to me, as i have used that in my mashup music, mixing it with lady gaga and aphex twin for my "irrelevant dumbass music" ep

Bjork is a Icelandic singer

The range of reactions I've seen to this one honestly have me a little curious about it even as someone who's never really followed Robinson's work particularly closely. I will say, while I am also flat broke and have horrifying dental problems, I actually kind of get the veneers line? When you're spiralling from anxiety or intrusive thoughts, your mind will latch onto incredibly strange and nonsensical things to make you feel like an irredeemably bad person, and even when that passes, the thought can still linger like a tacky residue in your head. So if you're going to write a hall-of-mirrors record about how the way that other people look at you is probably driving you insane, it at least makes sense to throw such an oddly specific headsnake like that in. That being said, being purposefully unlikeable is just that, and it's a crapshoot even if better or worse framing is possible.

:D

Greatest TWA intro so far

Yes, I think this album is a little overrated, but I'm not a fan of his so I can't really give a big opinion.

I like it quite a lot, but had to sorta adjust my expectations, and my first thought was that this would be a polarizing album for sure

Passive fan here, I've always enjoyed your content. Personally, I disagree and I'd like to explain why I think you grossly misunderstood the lyrical tone. From what I can tell, you haven't watched a ton of interviews or read much about him, but still have the aggressive "EDM isn't art, my album isn't edm" image of porter robinson from the worlds Era, and I don't blame you for that, I'm not gonna get pissed at a reviewer for not reading interviews, but I do think you came out of this album with an insane misinterpretation of the lyrics and I wanted to clarify some things about it. For example, you criticize the "bitch I'm taylor swift" line for coming across as lasing out against the haters, or in other lines, believing that fans see him in a ridiculous lavish pop-star life. But Porter specifically said he had no idea what the taylor swift line even meant, he just thought it would be funny. I understand not caring for the line but the intention was completely light hearted. He also said his idea for the album when writing songs like knock yourself out was to showcase this false sense of bravado. Being ridiculous for the sake of it. They aren't Aggressive jokes that stem from any sort of real insecurities. The lyrics do come across as parody, but i think It's a lot more light hearted in it's execution than you interpreted. "if im everyhting you talk about, why should you keep letting yourself be let down?" - I think this line is about the parts of his fanbase that always demand for the old sounds to come back. the worlds fans to this day complain about his less EDM approach since nurture. I think in the end I interpret a lot of KYO as more of a "I dont give a damn what you think of me" feeling rather than one that feels insecure or passive agressive With songs like Kitsune maison freestyle, the teeth line was very real. Hes talked about how much he regrets getting his teeth fixed and how hard it was to play that song for his wife because its an insecurity he had never talked about. It isn't ironic. I personally view that whole song's message as being about material things and how everyone wants designer clothes and to look good, but when you actually get them, it doesn't fulfill you. its a cliche, and we all know it to be one, but a lot of people place way too much importance on those things anyways. You say it comes across as privileged, and he obviously is, but I think that track is confronting that directly. Personally I don't think him being rich invalidates his insecurities or message. (ironically, this song is the one that DOES contain a lot of passive aggressive ironic jokes that highlight insecurities, per porter's own admission. but they aren't the lyrics you highlight. However he said when he was writing it, he was recognizing he was being ridiculous and was trying to spin it into something fun) Year of the cup - you make a big deal about how Lil Wayne's alcoholism was not a success potion for him, which was the exact point why it was used. Porter speaks on the track about how he lashed out at fans and regrets it, about how he yelled at his audience, and how alcohol was not good for him. Outside of the music he's talked about how much happier he's been now that he's sober. Is there really no happiness, I'm not sure how this comes across as ironic? or obnoxious? Porter said he did it because it reminded him of the end of animes that show the "on the next episode!" compilation. I just don't see how this is ironic unless you already came to that conclusion before hearing the song and in general i dont think a look on parasocial relationships is at all obnoxious. I mean you say it isn't inherently obnoxious but then go to point how it comes across as such on any song about it. I personally just don't get that. Mona Lisa doesn't come across as arrogant or "up his own ass" to me. You say yourself you've had bad experiences with the porter fanbase, so I feel like lyricism like that would be something you appreciate? Idk I just am not on the same page ig lol. I also find you make some comments about porter watching reviews of his work in a way that has me scratching my head. I think artists SHOULD watch reviews. He even said he expected this album to bomb critically. If he was insecure about the critics I'm sure those insecurities would've affected the album's sound. At the end of the day, nothing I'm writing here is meant to be aggressive, I just really really disagree on the interpretations here. I also wanna add that porter is no longer on the "edm isn't art" rants and similar obnoxious things he used to spread. He's gone out of his way to disagree with himself on how he presented himself in the worlds era and in the recent years has shown an immense love of tons of niche scenes in EDM (raw-style most recently). Anyways, left a like, keep doing what you do :)

Overall I did like the album but I definitely agree about the lyrics to a certain extent, a good chunk of them just feel like they're either trying way too hard to be funny or like a considerably less genuine knock-off of nurture

Imagine if someone actually makes that Force of Gravity x Cheerleader mashup ! ! Anyway, from the perspective of a casual Porter fan, the album itself was a grower for me although at the end of the day, there are still things they can do that a smaller artist can do better. There's also some tracklisting problems, especially with Russian Roulette being in the front half instead of in the back, but it's still a kind of cute project overall. I can see some tracks worth keeping! Favourite tracks: Cheerleader, Easier to love you, Mona Lisa, Is there really no happiness? (SAME FAVS AS YOUR LIST GWGDIF) Least favs: Kitsune Maison freestyle, Year of the cup, Everything to me

im a big porter fan but this one didnt do it for me, and i agree its largely the tone of the album and occasional obnoxious lyrics that sour it. i would love russian roulette so much if not for the monkey line or the stephen hawking style text to speech. the last song being a slow soft rock ballad thing just made me turn it off. even if my feelings lean on positive for this album im still very let down, im only really coming back to this for cheerleader and kitsune maison

Nurture arrived at a perfect time for me, really connected Musician’s lyrics and just overall adored the album. The one thing I can give this album is that it’s much more “genuine” than a lot of the annoying emo revival stuff that’s been happening for the past few years. I’m glad that he’s being authentic and himself… even if that means making music in a genre I despise lol. I’m still a part of the “nurture is maybe the best thing ever” crowd, so at least we’ve still got that

as much as i loved this album, i respect your opinion and can definitely understand why you weren't huge on it and think the lyrics are cringe.

Also 0:19 is gold lol

Intro jumpscared the hell out of me I was not expecting it to be that loud lol As for my opinion on the album, I'm in roughly the same boat. I like his first two albums but I don't love them, and this one I'm mostly neutral on. I really like Cheerleader and Russian Roulette but everything else is leaving me cold tbh

Both Madeon and Porter's discography seems to get worse and worse over time. I feel like they've really lost a certain competitive edge to their sound. Madeon's material was awesome when he was still up and coming in the music scene and had something to prove and show the world what he was capable of. Porter seemed to have been going through something similar paired with a rough emotional state, which spilled over into his music in a good way. Ever since they both found their own ground and became comfortable names in the scene, it doesn't even feel like either has been trying to make something technically competent. It's all just whatever "vibes" they feel... And it's for the worse. Madeon's last album has basically been him on autopilot, and Porter fully in that same situation with Smile. I hope these two can find their edge someday again, because right now it feels like I'm witnessing Chance The Rapper's decline in the EDM scene right now. Maybe something about musical artists becoming happy and content makes them worse at making music or something, I don't know...

I’m afraid I’m gonna half to admit I’m on the side of really liking the album. I wouldn’t say it’s better than Worlds or Nurture, but it’s closely on par with them. Pretty great album for sure!

Uh oh I got brainwashed by the :D...... But for real i didnt expect you to talk about this in a dedicated video, if at all since its like 85% a pop album with electronic elements imo. But it also makes sense that you can't enjoy this album if the lyrics irritate you since the vocals are the focus for nearly all of it. I've been a fan since Nurture, and after hearing your thoughts... It makes me think this is his hardest album to enjoy if you aren't already a fan, despite it ironically being his most pop and accessible in terms of mainstream appeal I guess. Part of me says it's a bit unfair that you reacted the way you did to the title and the jokey parts of this album, since i dont feel at all like any of it comes off as passive-aggressive or out of touch (at least not in a way he doesnt acknowledge or realize, such as in Freestyle, or isn't genuine like much of Knock Yourself Out). Like especially with the emoticon, for me that's just a cute little thing that comes from a similar place to his love for Japanese culture, which I definitely relate to. But i wonder if that hinges on me following him and taking note of everything he's said about the album and his mindset/intentions making it in interviews and his posts. That maybe this album can only make sense to fans or people very knowledgeable about what kind of person he seems to be. I could go on forever about every little thing but that might not be useful, so I'll try not go on toooo long? 😬 Personally, it seems like nearly the whole album is talking to his fans directly, and comes off much differently to someone who doesn't actively follow him like that. Like for example i think Knock Yourself Out is specifically about his own subset fans that repeatedly get upset or disappointed whenever he's released the next album because it's not the same as what he did before. And he's mentioned a lot that he's gotten those kinds of comments every time, even all the way back to when he switched to releasing under his name rather than "Ekowraith." And when it comes to the "humor" in this album, im personally not even sure if he actually thinks these lines are funny or not, but i do know he said: "the album that I was TRYING to write was this nonstop party - NO sincerity, ALL fun, an album that revels in absurdity for a world that rejects context [...] until I accidentally started confessing how I was really feeling" So that's why I see this album as a mixture of insincere random lyrics as well is his real thoughts, and I don't think they were meant to be thought of super deeply in context with each other for the most part. And that initial idea for the album had partly come from him not being entirely happy with how Nurture ended so conclusive and positive, because he doesn't want to give off the impression that he has all the answers to his fans internal struggles. Like his music is the type that has a side effect of reaching people that end up telling him it saved their life, and based on what he's said he has trouble grasping that idea and he feels a pressure from feeling unintentionally responsible for anybody's well-being in that way. Russain Roulette was originally about him thinking about the idea of putting out a career-ending release (since there's always been fans complaining about his change in direction) but he actually added the last third - with the build about wanting to live - after realizing that the lyrics would end up being interpreted in that much darker way. That might be why im not bothered by the Pitchfork line even though its probably the most out of place in context out of all the songs' lyrics. And i dont even really think its funny (i might've chuckled on first listen but i dont quite remember). But my tolerance to that might also be due to being exposed to so many gen z memes that have an absurd number of layers of irony and sarcasm. I also think the Lil Wayne clips in Year of the Cup don't necessarily need to be used in a way that makes sense with the original context, and I think you might agree that regular musical samples are the best when they're used in a new way or context instead of just trying to recapture the way they were originally good, so I think that should apply to speech or interview samples. Also in terms of the perception that he's this out of touch music star i mostly don't think is accurate. I mean obviously he is very successful and has had the luxury of realizing later how unimportant material stuff like designer clothes is to him, since he did an IRL stream giving away his designer clothes to fans. Even though he got them to begin with, that might've been the best way to get rid of it with the least amount of resulting waste considering fans dedicated to show up to something like that probably would cherish a clothing from their favorite artist especially since he gave them out himself personally. And I guess I'm only really saying this since he seems like a normal nice guy that happened to get popular from the regular pure luck you need to make a living out of music. And I hope you don't view him as another arrogant music star since I do value your thoughts and he could make an album in the future that really resonates with you. I don't think I would consider myself an obsessive kind of music fan, but idk you could view this part as my inner fanboy speaking if you want. So anyways, i guess this is all summarized by saying that i dont think you're meant to take every line equally seriously or at face value. And a lot of them arguably don't even make any sense at all, but i think I might've realized the reason i love this album. I think it kind of makes Porter feel more human and relatable in a specific way that his sentimental internal struggles making music on Nurture couldn't have: that he's just as capable as all of us of saying stupid stuff that makes no sense or is unfunny/cringe, and that he's not this perfect guy that has it all figured out. And that it originally started from a place of imposter syndrome and feeling like he shouldn't be idolized as this perfect role model. Not to say I viewed him in that way myself, but I'd argue that kind of humanization is usually only seen in unscripted interviews instead of within one of their musical works themselves Sorry for this whole damn essay, and maybe this just comes from me trying to give the benefit of the doubt in every way but this is mostly my attempt to try to explain (also to myself) why I haven't had any of the remotely negative reactions that I've seen from both some fans and formulated opinions like yours. Seriously thank you if you read through this whole bucket of nonsense, I think it was still a great review - even though I disagree so strongly in terms of personal enjoyment - it just goes to show how great you are at effectively explaining your thoughts in your reviews. I have seen some other negative reactions and reviews to the album but yours is the first where I feel like I actually understand where you're coming from completely. Still love the channel, you're awesome! (And that's insane your video was in the lyric video, I definitely didn't see it since it speeds through each screenshot so fast)

Yea not good

you scared me with that intro.. haha

People don’t like this album? That’s so insane to hear to me, it’s my favourite pendulum album, every track is just incredible

Wow that part of the end was spectrum pulse-esque, one of your best reviews.

I'm kinda glad it's not just me here lol, everyone on AOTY loves this thing. I was never on the Porter Robinson hype to begin with and I feel way more genuine emotion with George Clanton's music in I think similar but more convincing ways than Porter Robinson's. I personally see no reason to listen to this over Ooh Rap I Ya

jump scare 0:19 :O

Now that I have had more time to sit with SMILE! :D, I can say that I do like it and appreciate what it is going for, but it will end up being my least favorite Porter Robinson album to date. I knew this album would split the fanbase when the second single "Knock Yourself Out XD" dropped. I wasn't crazy about it on first listen myself, but I think it's enjoyable. It's interesting seeing so many people have different favorite and least favorite tracks though. Some mark "Kitsune Maison Freestyle" as mid, but it's one of my favorites on the album! "Russian Roulette" is probably one of my all-time favorite Porter tracks; exploring a dark topic such as su*cidal ideation and finishing it up with mantras of what he'll miss was an album highlight for me, plus the instrumental is amazing. One of your criticisms of the album was with the spoken word passages, and I hate that I agree. Even though I love "Kitsune Maison Freestyle", that passage about his teeth was a bit of a sour moment, but it didn't detract me from the song. Another favorite, "Is There Really No Happiness?" has the worst one with the "People die of nostalgia" line. I can't help but cringe at not just the lyric, but seeing fans of his use the line in comments. It is there in good faith, but that moment feels so clunky to me. He tackles nostalgia so much better on Nurture. When the Lil Wayne interview sample comes up on "Year of the Cup", it felt so weird to listen to, but again I feel like I know what Porter is trying to say by adding that sample throughout. This era of Porter Robinson's discography isn't going to be entirely for me, and I made peace with that early on. From the music, to the pop star persona he's been putting on for his promotions, to the merch and overall aesthetic of the album, SMILE :D has elements that like more than I dislike, but the flaws are more pronounced and that holds it back for me. I went in not wanting to compare it to Worlds (8.5/10) or Nurture (10/10). Even keeping it separate from his other eras, SMILE! :D is a good record with some parts that I might be more critical of because it is Porter Robinson and I am generally a big fan of his work. This all could change as the year passes! [7.5/10] p.s. I had a strong feeling you would not be into it, but the score did surprise me a little!

I’m glad someone else has the same opinion of this album as I do. I loved Nurture, but didn’t care for this album at all

Thanks for this, I was excited for this album off Cheerleader, but yeah first pass, was kind dissapointed and some of the lyrics jumped out as cringe on first pass. Already looking forward to the NEXT album now that he got this stuff out of his system 🙂

Ooh a new hairdo lol

4:36 whoa that's crazy

:-)

:D

Trying to feel alive starts with the first two letters of my name

wonky slush

Love the air shirt!!

Here before brendawg comments wonky slush

wonky slush

Hey there, I have a question. Would Jamiroquai be reviewable on this channel if it was sent as a patreon request?