Album Review: Porter Robinson- Worlds

So in the recent EDM uprising of the past few years, a notable name has been 22 year old producer/DJ Porter Robinson, who gained popularity for his electro house hits such as "Language". But fast-forward two years later, and the EDM style which Porter was a part of is now something that people associate with molly-induced deaths and cheesy mainstream hits with a lack of originality. So what is someone who wants to be considered a legitimate artist to do when their genre goes down under? you find genres which never became "uncool", and you take some notes from the artists within those genres and figure out how these sounds managed to stay fresh. In Porter's case, he ditched the dying sound he used to be a part of, and gravitated towards sounding like the indie-electronic acts of recent years such as M83, Chvrches, Purity Ring, and Passion Pit. When I heard the first single off this album "Sea of Voices", the M83 influence was undeniable, and as a big fan of Anthony Gonzales I had quite a bit of excitement for this album, but unfortunately Robinson doesn't manage to make this album as exciting or attention grabbing as the acts I mentioned above.

First off, I must say that despite the dull moments of this album, I do give props to Mr. Robinson for creating such a rich production. In a world where he could have made a ton of money off of an album of EDM club bangers, it was a bit of a bold move for him to move to the M83-influenced direction. There are lots of good ideas and layered, detailed productions with rich synths, but the chords oftentimes are just not that interesting, and a lot of the songs tend to go on for too long. I guess for someone who has never listened to the artists who influenced Porter on this album, it would sound very fresh and original, but for those who have, this album often feels full of recycled ideas. Maybe I might be going a little harsh on him, because after all it is a step in the right direction from where he could have gone with this album. Some of the moments where he really shines on here include the 80's sounding "Flicker", "Hear the Bells" (which takes a lot from M83), and "Sea of Voices" (which also sounds like M83, hah). I know it's not professional of me to bring up the same point on how Porter sounds a lot like other artists on here, but the similarities are too obvious to ignore. There are some good ideas on here and some very grand, detailed production, but Porter's lack of originality and personal style take away from how good this album actually could be. If he can define his style some more, I hope to hear some better works from Mr. Robinson in the future.

Album Rating: 7.2/10
Listen to the full album here or download it here

Porter Robinson- "Sea of Voices"