When EDM musician Porter Robinson dropped his debut album Worlds, it received lots of acclaim. Although it had some bumps, it was a well-crafted and made debut album, although you could see him still progressing as an artist. After nearly 7 years of not releasing any new albums and being stuck in the cycle of creative block, Porter Robinson finally dropped Nurture. It was well worth the wait.
The album has this feeling of a constructed world around nature, a virtual comfort zone almost, with the world “glitching” in some ways. Robinson uses the composition of the whole album to evoke this feeling and set the mood.
The album begins unexpectedly with a very soft and completely instrumental and acoustic intro called “Lifelike”, a harmony of strings and piano. The track feels almost like the beginning of a Ghibli movie and it’s definitely clear on this album that Robinson took a huge influence from J-Pop and experimented with it to create a unique sound that complements his style.
In almost perfect transition, that J-Pop sound shifts into the next song, “Look at the Sky”, however unlike the previous track, this one includes Robinson’s vocoded voice with his signature beat mixing in addition to that instrumental sound mixed in. It’s a comforting sonic profile that is included throughout the album which helps every song transition from one to another very well.
A few tracks later on “Wind Tempos” another mostly instrumental track, the album’s emphasis on that calmness is carried over with the addition of sound “glitches”, nature noises, and piano melodies. “Wind Tempos” transitions to “Musician”, which was created in a really interesting way that really complements the idea of this album being birthed of creative block. Back in 2019 Robinson collaborated with UK indie pop band, Kero Kero Bonito and that unreleased demo turned into vocal chops for Musician. It’s done in such a smooth and seamless way that it fits right in with the album. Robinson put a lot of thought through this album and in some of the instrumentals its quite clear.
Out of the remaining tracks, “dullscythe” may be my least favorite due to the fact that it felt like a mix of demos, the sound didn’t meld with the album so it felt very stark and the experimentation didn’t quite stick the landing. Two of the songs towards the end “Something Comforting” and “Mirrors” were released as singles and those were strong picks. Those tracks are the main reasons I was looking forward to the album. They had great beats, enjoyable instrumentals, great melodies, and a calming effect.
On a lot of these tracks, the vocoded voice complements the songs very well, which is perfect because it isn’t too overbearing or detrimental to the sound. This adds a layer to that aforementioned tranquility. That calmness is also helped by the piano flourishes across the album mixed with noises of nature and some “glitches” in the songs. Robinson created this album after months of creative block, eventually realizing that he had to get out to experience the world for inspiration and once he did, he created an immensely great album. We could all learn a thing or two from that as artists and perhaps listening to the album can give anyone inspiration. Regardless, it is worth giving it a listen.
Favorite Tracks: Something Comforting, Look at The Sky, Mirrors, Wind Tempos, Musician, Sweet Time, Lifelike
Least Favorite Tracks: “dullscythe”
