Porter Robinson Smile review
Music, Sounds

Porter Robinson, Smile! :D: REVIEW

by Dave MacIntyre

“Smile! :D is yet another artistic triumph for Porter Robinson, and his biggest sign of musical reinvention and maturity to date.”

Porter Robinson, Smile! :D (Mom + Pop)

Once a surefire future EDM king in the early 2010s, Porter Robinson notoriously subverted expectations in the middle of the decade by pivoting to moodier, more synth-poppy tunes. The North Carolina producer’s fourth LP Smile! :D shows him making a left turn once more, taking on a noticeably more singer-songwriter persona. More electronic-driven fare like singles “Cheerleader” and the six-and-a-half-minute standout “Russian Roulette” are balanced out by the more pop-leaning “Knock Yourself Out XD” and the full-on waltz-tempo acoustic ballad “Year of the Cup.” While this will definitely be a grower compared to its 2021 predecessor Nurture (for those who were expecting harder-hitting EDM textures), Smile! :D is yet another artistic triumph for Robinson, and his biggest sign of musical reinvention and maturity to date. 9/10 Trial Track: “Russian Roulette”

“Russian Roulette” from Smile! :D by Porter Robinson

For more on Porter Robinson, please visit his website. This review was originally published in the Aug. 2024 issue of Cult MTL.

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Posted in Music, Sounds

by Dave MacIntyre

Contributing editor for Music
Dave MacIntyre is a Montreal-based freelance journalist. His primary topic of interest is music, but is equally comfortable writing about sports, current events, and Montreal-related initiatives. Outside of Cult MTL, his bylines can be found in publications like BeatRoute and Northern Transmissions. And no, he is not related to Reba, nor to the WWE wrestler Drew, nor to Joey from New Kids on the Block.