Porter Robinson is unrecognizable on his latest album, a recklessly beautiful dive into the torn pages of his mind and a cleansing ascent back to himself.
An existential crisis fueled by dopamine, SMILE: D introduces fans to a new Porter, a post-EDM realist who exudes candor. The boy who once tore up festival stages with his formulaic, rave-driven electro is now a complex soul creating tender alt-pop that seeks to mend the heart’s most tormented moments.
Robinson’s reinvention reflects an artist who isn’t afraid to evolve, even in the face of vertigo from the strobe-light headache. Life in the public eye is a platform that all artists have to walk on at some point, and it’s sadly all too easy to become nihilistic, especially when one feels endlessly misunderstood. Naturally, sacrifice and compromise become routine as they give up parts of themselves to perpetuate an empty commercial image.
Under these circumstances, SMILE: D It is the unbridled stroke of genius that occurs when there is nothing left to give.
At the core of the album is the war Robinson has waged with cognitive dissonance over the years. It’s the musical equivalent of laughing at a funeral or crying at a rave: a beautifully uncomfortable reminder that grief and happiness are conjoined twins.
Perhaps no song better explores her inner turmoil than the wistful “Easier to Love You,” a deeply introspective, sweet ode to her fractured former self. “I found a letter, ‘Dear future me / I promise I’ll take care of the person we’ll both eventually be / I’ll learn to paint and join the gym’ / I can’t shake the feeling that I’ll be happy when I’m him,” she says, her voice shaking.
Robinson is even more contemplative on the track “Is There Really No Happiness?”, which features additional production from electronic music trio WAVEDASH. Here, he pirouettes on the razor’s edge between emptiness and ecstasy as he reflects on a world without a loved one.
And who could forget “Russian Roulette,” the stunning single she released in early June? One of the album’s undeniable highlights, the synth-drenched track finds Robinson using the metaphor of a deadly game of chance to convey detachment and suicidal ideation in the face of relentless criticism. Each rousing chorus is shadowed by the persistent pull of gravity, as if trying to dance in quicksand.
In that sense, the album is proof that clarity is not easily achieved. Dissociative disorders are the earthquakes that topple our mental architecture, but Robinson shows that firmer foundations can be rebuilt from the rubble.
Listen to SMILE: D Below you can find the new album on streaming platforms. here.
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