User:TechnoSquirrel69/sandbox/Nurture

Main article: Nurture (album)

REVIEW NOTES

Devlin, Ben MusicOMH

Jolley, Ben NME

Bucksbaum, Sydney EW

• Mainly about album art
• "cover shoot for his second studio release was "such a process,""
• collaborated with art director Samuel Burgess-Johnson
• all Nurture singles pictures were from Porter's phone
• "But what we were ultimately imagining was a white sky and a perfect Windows XP-style hill with me standing there or maybe not me standing there."
• Dropped into the flowers on a whim
• "It's a fantasy of a version of myself that lives so earnestly. I struggle to be bold and it's a bold album cover. It's un-ignorable."

Pappis, Konstantinos Our Culture

Simpson, Paul AllMusic

Walker, Sophie Line of Best Fit

Lyons-Burt, Charles Slant

Joyce, Colin Pitchfork

Paskin, Aaron Spectrum Culture

Conaton, Chris PopMatters

Background

• Contrast with old EDM style, popular at just 18, mention period of depression (Jolley)
• Popular at 18, depression and artisitic block after Worlds, Virtual Self and Grammy nomination for Ghost Voices, first round of singles in 2020 (Pappis)
• Background: EDM, Worlds, Shelter, Virtual Self Grammy (Simpson)
• 2020 release and tour delayed by pandemic, five singles before album (lol) (Contaton)

Robinson experienced an initial surge of popularity at age 18,(Jolley) after the release of several festival-oriented electronic dance music works such as "Say My Name" (2010) and Spitfire (2011). Robinson grew increasingly dissatisfied with his performances, and said that he experienced "four or five fully-blown anxiety attacks onstage" while touring for his song "Language".(Cooper) His desire to change his musical style led him to write his debut album Worlds (2014), a work that has retrospectively been described as a "breakthrough" that precipitated a wider shift in the electronic music industry. (Ochoa) In the years following the album's release, Robinson suffered from an extended period of depression and writer's block, releasing very little music.(Pappis)

Composition and style

• More pop and indie sound (Devlin)
• Lots of processed vocals, auto-tune (Devlin)
• Pitched-up vocals that are more feminine (Pappis)
• "getting back behind the piano was pivotal in his recovery" (Jolley)
• "Nurture came after a period of real creative struggle and just a very difficult time emotionally where an escape wasn't cutting it anymore. I found it deeply comforting to find beauty in the everyday and in the small things and in nature and in what's real." (Bucksbaum)
• No guest vocalists apart from Unfold (and FL but whatever) (Pappis)
• "no supersaws no 808 subs no classic breakbeats" (Pappis, Lyons-Burt)
• More emphasis on lyrics (Pappis)
• Lyrics about depression and writer's block (Simpson)
• do-re-mi is inspired by Shibuya-kei (Simpson)
• Very influenced by J-pop and Japanese culture (Walker)
• Lifelike sounds like Ghibli (Walker)
• Wind Tempos, Joe Hisaishi (Conaton)
• First time Porter prominently features his voice (Walker)
• Experimental techniques in Wind Tempos and Dullscythe (Walker)
• Wind Tempos inspired by "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem (Lyons-Burt, Conaton)
• Vocal manipulation to add "corruption and artificiality" according to Porter (Joyce)
• GYW kind of like "33 'GOD'", reflective, piano base (Paskin, Conaton)
• Draft Punk sampling style on Musician (Paskin)
• Points out harmonizing plain voice with processed in LATS (Contaton)
• Dullscythe referencing "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service with lead in last section (Contaton)

---

On the composition of Nurture, Robinson said that it "came after a period of real creative struggle and just a very difficult time emotionally".(Walker) As a result, AllMusic's Paul Simpson finds that the lyrical content focuses on the topics of depression and writer's block.(Simpson) Our Culture's Konstantinos Pappis writes that the album as a whole places more emphasis on lyrics.(Pappis) Robinson considered "Only Hope" for the title of the album, but Nurture was ultimately chosen due to its similarity with the word "nature". According to Robinson, this was a reference to the nature versus nurture debate, which he hoped would "make [people] feel like they can change the way they think of themselves and improve themselves."(Shirahama) The Line of Best Fit's Sophie Walker noted that this is the first time that Robinson has prominently featured his singing voice in his work.(Walker) However, PopMatters's Chris Conaton writes that songs such as "Look at the Sky" often harmonize his voice with a heavily processed version,(Conaton) which is autotuned and increased in pitch to sound more feminine.(Devlin, Pappis) According to Robinson, the processed version of his voice served to add a "corruption and artificiality" to the sound.(Joyce)

Several critics felt that there were significant stylistic differences between the album and Robinson's previous works. Robinson stated that he followed an approach of "no supersaws, no 808 subs, [and] no classic breakbeats" for most of the songs on the album,(Lyons-Burt) which Pappis ascribes to his resolve to avoid the "strictures of dance music".(Pappis) Walker notes the experimental techniques used in "Dullscythe" and "Wind Tempos".(Walker) MusicOMH's Ben Devlin feels that the album is more similar to the pop and indie styles, while still retaining some heavier electronic elements.(Devlin) Critics also discuss the album's diverse instrumentation,(Devlin, Simpson) with NME's Ben Jolley highlighting Robinson's use of the piano, which he feels was "pivotal in his recovery [from depression]".(Jolley)

Critics note multiple influences on Robinson's stylistic choices on the album. Spectrum Culture's Aaron Paskin finds the reflective lyrics and piano riff of "Get Your Wish" to be reminiscent of Bon Iver's "33 'God' ".(Paskin) Both Slant's Charles Lyons-Burt and Conaton identify a reference to the piano riff of LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends",(Lyons-Burt) with Conaton also noting a reference to The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" in "Dullscythe".(Conaton) Paskin compares the sampling technique used in "Musician" to the approach of Daft Punk.(Paskin) Walker notes that there is a heavy influence of J-pop and Japanese culture.(Walker) Simpson writes that "Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do" contains influences from the Shibuya-kei genre.(Simpson) Reviewers also attributed the more atmospheric tone of some songs to the influence of Joe Hisaishi and the soundtracks of Studio Ghibli's films, with Conaton finding similarities in "Wind Tempos",(Conaton) and Walker citing the opening song "Lifelike".(Walker)

In March 2020, Robinson and Samuel Burgess-Johnson conducted a photoshoot for the album cover, experimenting with several ideas before deciding to use a picture in which Robinson dropped into a bed of flowers on an impulse. Robinson sees the cover as indicative of the album's personal tone, saying "I struggle to be bold and it's a bold album cover."(Bucksbaum)

Themes

• piano, bird sounds, orchestra, "rekindling his relationship with nature... rediscovered the beauty in everyday life" (Jolley)
• GYW "walking on water – a representation of his relief at having made it through the darkness" (Jolley)
• Robinson thanks loved ones in Mother, ST, Blossom "more vulnerable than ever before" (Jolley)
• TTFA about struggle with mental health (Jolley)
• Mirror ending quote "reflect the entire album and Porter’s journey as an artist" (Jolley)
• Tone of Nurture: "very melancholic; there's a lot of pain, there's a lot of sadness, but there's also a lot of hope" (Bucksbaum)
• New themes of family in Mother, Sweet Time ("about falling in love so hard you experience the fear of dying for the first time"), and Blossom (dreams of a happy life with Rika) (Pappis)
• Juxtaposition of the artifical and organic, real/processed voice, synths/piano (Pappis, Walker, Lyons-Burt, Conaton)
  • Unfold "I put my pictures down / They're not as good as the real thing" (Pappis)
• "electronica has never felt more organic"
• Contrast "fantasy, escapism, and technology" of his other work with instrospection of Nurture (Simpson)
• Porter's work previously about escapism, Shelter MV is about a simulated paradise away from dystopic real world (Joyce)
• Musician on overcoming burnout, Mirror and SC about self-criticism (Simpson)
• TTFA "reaching a finish line might not be the point, so being able to live and create music turns out to be its own reward." (Simpson)
• "Something must’ve changed in me", "sense of disillusionment" (Lyons-Burt)
• LATS "ballad of hard-won optimism" (Joyce)
• Musician "flickering between despair and reassurance" (Joyce)
• TTFA "struggle gives life its color in the first place" (Joyce)
• "refuses to look anywhere but home for beauty" (Paskin)
• Porter calls Lifelike "window into the worldview of Nurture" (Paskin)

---

Several songs on Nurture explore Robinson's struggles with depression and writer's block. AllMusic's Paul Simpson writes that "Mirror" and "Something Comforting" both address Robinson's self-critical inner voice, while "Musician" focuses on overcoming the burnout that was preventing him from writing music.(Simpson) Slant's Charles Lyons-Burt writes that "Look at the Sky" has a "sense of disillusionment", but Pitchfork's Colin Joyce notes that it also looks ahead to a brighter future, calling it a "ballad of hard-won optimism".(Joyce) NME's Ben Jolley feels that the closing song "Trying to Be Alive" also reflects Robinson's struggles with his mental health.(Jolley) However, Joyce feels that the song shows Robinson has realized that "struggle gives life its color in the first place".(Joyce) According to Simpson, Robinson expresses the futility of striving for a "finish line", and instead learning to find fulfilment in simply living and creating music.(Simpson)

Multiple critics note the

Jolley feels that Robinson's rediscovery of "the beauty of everyday life" also led to a renewed appreciation for the natural world. As a result, the album incorporates more organic sounds, as well as more acoustic instruments like the piano and orchestra.(Jolley) Paskin notes this theme in the opening song "Lifelike", which makes use of piano, strings, and ambient bird sounds; Robinson himself describes the song as "a window into the worldview of Nurture".(Paskin)

Robinson explores a new theme of family on Nurture, dedicating a song to his mother, and two to his partner Rika; Jolley writes that here Robinson renders himself "more vulnerable than ever before".(Jolley) According to Pappis, "Sweet Time" the feeling of falling so deeply in love that one faces "the fear of dying for the first time".(Pappis)

Simpson notes the contrast betweeen the introspection of the album and the "fantasy, escapism, and technology" of Robinson's previous works.(Simpson) Joyce especially highlights the thematic differences with the music video of "Shelter", which features a simulation that is created to escape a dystopic reality.(Joyce)

Jolley concludes that the closing quote of "Mirror" is a reflection of the message of the album as a whole, and of "Porter's journey as an artist".(Jolley) Reflecting on the overall tone of the album, Entertainment Weekly's Sydney Bucksbaum writes that it is "very melancholic; there's a lot of pain, there's a lot of sadness, but there's also a lot of hope".(Bucksbaum)

Reception

• Most reviews tend to highlight experimentation and optimism, but can get a bit sappy or distracted at times (Lyons-Burt, )
• Good sophomore album (Paskin)
• songwriting is "cutesy but massively endearing", melodies "effortless ear-candy" (Devlin)
• Not perfect and "a bit too samey", but Porter has created "fun, vivid" niche (Devlin)
• "personal and artistic rebirth" (Jolley)
• euphoria of LATS and SC (Jolley)
• Comparisons to Japanese video game soundtracks and 22, A Million (Pappis)
• "More cohesive and... personal" (Pappis)
• Mother, ST are the album's "weakest cuts" and the production doesn't fully express the depth of the lyrics (Pappis)
• Scattered between Mother and like Blossom (Walker)
• Impressive songs get drowned out in the full album?, Unfold "somewhat anticlimactic thirteen tracks deep" (Walker)
• Mother is "grating" and disconnected with main theme, Unfold's "clanging sheet metal" is "diffuse" (Lyons-Burt)
• Album "mirror the twists and turns of his headspace" (Joyce)
• personality and clear vision, but "slightly repetitive and overlong track list" (Paskin)
• "pop tunes do tend to run together", but can be forgiven (Paskin)
• Lifelike "catchy", highlights Porter's melody (Contaton)
• A bit long, not every song is great but catchy melodies, sometimes cheesy (Conaton)
• "There's a wonderful rawness to Porter's vocals, confronting his troubles of the past with his blossoming musical pallet" [sic] (Crowe)
• style: Musician "Miami bass meets hyperpop", sound design of GYW lead and do-re-mi guitar, Blossom waltz and refreshing, Mother drums and power chords (Devlin)
• Style: "rippling pianos, lush acoustic guitars, and even wistful strings along with propulsive beats, neon synths, and glitchy effects" (Simpson)
• Writer's block "cured by freeing himself of the pressure to recapture the success of Worlds" (Paskin)
• Dullscythe is experimental, Porter's "[virtuistic] production skills" (Paskin)
• Blossom: "you sang to me the beauty you'd been seeing", "transcendence" (Pappis)

---

Reviewers highlight Robinson's "knack for melody", according to Conaton,((Conaton)) with Devlin noting that the songwriting is "cutesy but massively endearing".((Devlin)) Clash's Josh Crowe feels that Robinson's vocals have a "wonderful rawness" that complement the euphoric messages of songs such as "Look at the Sky".((Crowe)) Jolley also notes a "jubilant energy" on "Something Comforting" and "Musician".((Jolley)) Pappis considers "Blossom" to be the album's "most heartfelt moment", effectively condensing Robinson's love and the "simple transcendence" of his realization to appreciate everyday life.((Pappis)) Joyce feels that Nurture "mirror the twists and turns of his headspace".((Joyce)) Paskin writes that Robinson was able to write Nurture by "freeing himself of the pressure to recapture the success of Worlds", and feels that the album is a worthy sophomore album due to its distinct identity as a work.((Paskin))

Multiple reviewers express their appreciation for the album's sonic palette, with Simpson noting the "rippling pianos [and] lush acoustic guitars... along with propulsive beats [and] neon synths",((Simpson)) and Devlin writing about engaging sound design, such as the "crispy downsampled guitar" on "Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do".((Devlin)) While Paskin shows a regard for Robinson's experimentation on "Dullscythe", citing his "[virtuosic] production skills", Pappis feels that songs like "Mother" and "Sweet Time" are among the "weakest cuts" from the album, and are sonically unable to match the emotional intensity of the lyrics.((Pappis)) Lyons-Burt also finds "Mother" to be "cacophonous" due to its drum production.((Lyons-Burt)) Additionally, Devlin feels that the album is slightly repetitive, with Paskin commenting that the "pop tunes do tend to run together".((Paskin)) Walker writes that the length of the album obscured some of the highlights, adding that even "Unfold" feels "somewhat anticlimactic thirteen tracks deep".((Walker))