Porter Robinson: Smile! :D Review

 

 

Smile! :D will have to take lumps as it receives them for what it is, just like LMFAO had to when they replaced 3OH!3 who replaced Bloodhound Gang as the dancy dirty synth-hook clubrats. Just replace that with Porter Robinson replacing Owl City for reasons only Porter knows. As hard as I'm being on this, don't take that as straight hatred for what is on this record. Porter is less concerned with impressing the music industry and critics, and more concerned with making immediate feel-good tunes that connect with listeners. It's going to do that for a lot of people, and I do anticipate a breakthrough hit to come from this (I also expect to see that mylar face a lot).

The meat of this album is a large collection of spacious, crisp late-summery tracks aimed at filling the arena with color and emotion. In the spirit of Owl City, Metro Station, or Passion Pit, much of this is achieved with midi-style sounds, drum loops, and acoustic guitar. "More is always better" is very much the creative mantra here, and the cutting room floor is quite clean. There are some quiet moments here and there, but they never drag the mood down too far or too long. 

This is unequivocally fun music; if that damn mylar face didn't clue you in already, the first notes in the album eagerly throw colored chalk dust in your face. It’s so weird hearing an album that sounds like this written in 2024. The whoah-ohs, the weird flat electric guitar mixing, the college rock vocals both straining and breathy. Your mileage will vary with this approach. Either it’s going to sound retro because you weren’t alive yet, rose tinted because you were, or groan inducing as you plead for the trend to hold off for just a few more…..decades….. We all have to wonder: is Porter in on the joke or not? (answer: no)

Porter is unafraid to mess with his vocals as well, but when he keeps it unaltered, he has a clean sound that fits well with the music. For better or worse, that also means he adopts the aforementioned breathy and strained high note aesthetic. I am a fan of it at times, when the music is fun and energetic. He puts it all together quite well on Cheerleader, and it's my pick for radio play. I wish there was a little more traditional instrumentation as well, because Easier to Love You is a perfectly simple and delicate song, incorporating a wonderful duet. Too bad it's ruined by a truly baffling chiptune distorted solo at the end.
 

I don't care for it when Porter is trying too much to sell the emotion of the lyrics. It's not surprising; again in the emo-pop/rock style, the lyrics are at best youthful and at worst juvenile. Porter is nonetheless going to milk these slight inconveniences like they were hate crimes. Russian Roulette is a full-on self harm topic song that mixes cutesy goofy robot-reader voices and chiptunes in. The lyrics "Funny monkey takes a piss into his own mouth" in a song that also says "Gamble with my life" with other graphic descriptions I won't mention...I know it's supposed to be a song about the beauty of life (as it eventually comes around to), but the lightness of the music and the tone-shift lyrics almost romanticize the experience of a depression attack. I know others have found beauty in the clearly positive intentions; I find it irresponsible and angering. Each of these emotions needed their own song to allow for a more nuanced and careful presentation; that's an album I'd support Robinson attempting.

Instead we get fairly normal fare for a rock album, and it's largely not anything to criticize. The closer the lyrics mirror the energy, the better the experience becomes. I'm a fan of the Matt & Kim style Perfect Pinterest Garden, and the most Owl City song on the tracklist, Knock Yourself Out XD, does one-up this comparison. Kitsune Maison Freestyle could have made more out of the harmonies for a fuller sound (the ONE place on the album it needs to be more chiptune is where it does less), but the beat is jumpy and the lyrics are quite catchy. Easier to Love You needed more time in the cooker in both the production and lyrics department, but it's the song that will stick with you the longest nonetheless.

There are a fair few songs that just fall between the cracks. Too often these kinds of songs are labeled as the worst in similar fashion to a "so bad it's good" movie. That's, in the least, not true here. They're just fine songs that fill time. Year of the Cup is repetitive and painfully on-the-nose, but it's not unpleasant. It doesn't help that Kitsune Maison Freestyle follows it, doing a better beat, hook, soundbite, and even has an interview section. I don't get why they are together. Everything to Me retreads ground from Easier to Love You, leading to a lackluster finish. At 40 minutes, though, I don't think there was a fair reason to leave it off.

As far as guilty pleasure records go, you could do a lot worse than this. And if you grew up in the right era, you'll be digging out your striped white A87s, collar popped of course.

6.5/10