Nurture (album)

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Nurture
A blonde male, Porter Robinson, laying in a field of grass and flowers.
Studio album by
Porter Robinson
ReleasedApril 23, 2021 (2021-04-23)[1]
Recorded2015–2020
Studio
Genre
Length59:01
LabelMom + Pop
ProducerPorter Robinson
Porter Robinson chronology
Worlds Remixed
(2015) 		Nurture
(2021)
Singles from Nurture
  1. "Get Your Wish"
    Released: January 29, 2020
  2. "Something Comforting"
    Released: March 10, 2020
  3. "Mirror"
    Released: August 26, 2020
  4. "Look at the Sky"
    Released: January 27, 2021
  5. "Musician"
    Released: March 3, 2021
  6. "Unfold"
    Released: April 22, 2021

Nurture is the second studio album by American electronic music producer Porter Robinson, released on April 23, 2021. Like his debut album Worlds, Nurture marks a shift in Robinson's musical style,[10] and includes themes of Robinson's personal struggles with depression and his struggle to create and be proud of the music he was writing.

Following the pre-releases of several singles in the album, Nurture was released on April 23, 2021. It debuted on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums at number one, marking Robinson's second album to do so, and earned unanimous acclaim from critics and audiences. Nurture made several year-end lists, including Billboard's list of the "Best Albums of 2021"[11] and Paste magazine's list of the "50 Best Albums of 2021".[12]

Background

From 2015 to 2017, the years following his debut album, Robinson stated that he struggled to create music that he was proud of due to suffering from bouts of depression.[13]

In 2016, Robinson released "Shelter", a collaboration with friend and fellow electronic producer Madeon.[14] Robinson would later cite Madeon's work with writing and performing his album Good Faith (2019) as a factor in making Nurture's existence possible.[15]

In 2017, Robinson unveiled his Virtual Self project, a eurodance and trance inspired production alias in tandem with a five-track EP. He made it clear that he would not mix music between his name and his alias, and would not play his alias's music while performing under his name (and vice versa).[16]

In January 2020, he announced the album and the first single, "Get Your Wish", from the album to be released the next day.[17] The announcement was made along with a 52-second video that featured cryptic messages and hints, including an obscured Google Maps link, dates, and geographic coordinates.[18] These messages and hints are a signature of Robinson, who frequently hides puzzles and clues in his promotional material, art, and music for his fans to decrypt.[19]

Nurture was originally intended to be released in September 2020. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the release was pushed back, and Robinson replaced some songs and extended the length of the album from 11 to 14 songs.[20] On December 18, 2020, the album was submitted, with Robinson announcing that the album's release would be in "a few months".[21] The release date was later announced to be April 23, 2021.[1] On April 12, 2021, he revealed the titles of all of the tracks on the album.[22]

Album title and cover art

Along with the name Nurture, Robinson had also considered the name Only Hope for the album, though Nurture was more appealing to him. The name Nurture was chosen for its similarity with the word "nature," as Robinson hoped to "give people the feeling of nature," as well as the "nature versus nurture" problem, "to make [people] feel like they can change the way they think of themselves and improve themselves."[23]

The album's cover art shows Robinson lying face-down in a meadow of flowers. Working with Samuel Burgess-Johnson, Robinson did a photoshoot for the cover art in March 2020. During the photoshoot, a large number of options were considered, but Robinson on an impulse dropped face-first into the ground for the last picture, which ultimately became the album's cover art, though Robinson and Burgess-Johnson were initially imagining "a white sky and a perfect Windows XP-style hill with [Robinson] standing there or maybe not [Robinson] standing there." Robinson sees the cover art as reflective of the personal tone in Nurture.[24]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Get Your Wish", was released on January 29, 2020, for streaming and digital download. A 7" vinyl press of the song was also put on sale on Robinson's website.

The album's second single, "Something Comforting", was released on March 10, 2020. The official music video was released on March 25, 2020. A 7" vinyl press of the song was again put on his website.

The album's third single, "Mirror", was released on August 26, 2020.[25] The official music video was released on September 9, 2020, featuring character designs of Porter Robinson with other effects. A 7" vinyl press of the song was again put on his website along with a limited run of "Mirror Capsule" merchandise.

The album's fourth single "Look at the Sky" was released on January 27, 2021. A 7" vinyl press of the song was again put on his website. Robinson played a sample of the song at the end of his set at his online festival event Secret Sky on May 9, 2020.[26] The music video of the song was released on February 10, 2021.

The album's fifth single, "Musician", was released on March 3, 2021. The song was announced on Robinson's Twitter account on February 26, 2021, with an animated teaser video.[27] The music video was released on March 17, 2021.[28] A 7" vinyl press of the song was again put on his website.

The album's sixth and final single, "Unfold", was released on April 22, 2021, one day before the release of the album. The song is a collaboration between Robinson and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.[29]

"I realized I shouldn't write music with the expectation that the productivity or achievement will fix my problems, but instead with the hope that my honest expression will move people the way music moves me. So when I was really struggling to write and it seemed impossible, instead of thinking, 'You're struggling because you're a fraud, you're clearly not cut out for this,' I began to tell myself, 'Yeah, this is what you sacrifice.'"

 — Robinson in a letter to his fans.[16]

Live performances

On April 15, 2021, Robinson announced that Secret Sky 2021, the digital version of his yearly festival Second Sky, would take place on April 24, the day after the release of Nurture.[30] At Secret Sky, Robinson premiered the live show of Nurture.[31] The first in-person renditions were performed in back-to-back performances at his Second Sky Festival on September 18–19, 2021.[32]

On May 10, 2021, Robinson announced the Nurture Live Tour, with support from Jai Wolf.[33] He later announced the addition of more dates and additional support from James Ivy.[34] A European version of the tour was announced in December 2021, becoming his first European headline tour in five years.[35]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[36]
Metacritic78/100[37]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[38]
Clash8/10[39]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[2]
musicOMH[3]
NME[40]
Our Culture[41]
Pitchfork7.6/10[5]
PopMatters7/10[7]
Slant Magazine[4]
Spectrum Culture75%[6]

At Metacritic, Nurture has an aggregate score of 78, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37]

Sophie Walker from The Line of Best Fit wrote, "While Nurture may feel disordered, it's a kind of chaos that can only come with passion – and that is a sound Porter Robinson has more than earned the right to explore", scoring it a 9/10.[2]

Josh Crowe of Clash magazine, in his 8/10 review, wrote, "The lyrical frenzies, when coupled with competing instrumentation, at times feels perhaps too frantic, but you can't fault the producer's efforts to craft a body of work that carries more substance than clubby touchstones."[39]

Ben Devlin of musicOMH gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "Nurture is not a perfect record – it's a bit too samey for an hour-long release" but also that Robinson "has developed a niche that is fun, vivid and enthralling."[3]

In his review for Spectrum Culture, Aaron Pasking wrote that "Nurture is honest, consistent and focused, an improvement on Worlds in almost every way. Like any great sophomore album, Nurture sees its creator develop a unique musical personality while holding onto the qualities that made them successful in the first place."[6]

In a review for PopMatters, Chris Conaton wrote "Nurture is maybe a little too long of an album for 2021-level attention spans, but after seven years and a notable case of writer's block, it's understandable that Robinson would want to go big. Not every song here is top-notch, but Robinson's relentless insistence on catchy melodies makes it all quite listenable."[7]

Accolades

Nurture on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard Best Albums of 2021
30
[11]
The Fader The 50 Best Albums of 2021
1
[8]
Our Culture The 50 Best Albums of 2021
1
[42]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2021
41
[12]
Slant The 50 Best Albums of 2021
30
[9]

Nurture was featured on multiple year-end lists for the best albums of 2021, being ranked as the best album of 2021 by The Fader[8] and Our Culture Mag.[42] Promotional single "Look at the Sky" was ranked on the 2021 best song lists of Billboard,[43] The Fader,[44] and Our Culture,[45] while "Musician" placed on NPR's annual lists of the best electronic music[46] and the best songs.[47]

Commercial performance

According to MRC Data, Nurture earned 14,000 equivalent album units in its first week. It was Robinson's second number one debut on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart after his previous studio album, Worlds.[48]

Track listing

All tracks were revealed by Robinson via social media on April 12, 2021.[22] The Japanese edition of the album features an additional 15th track featuring Wednesday Campanella.[49]

All tracks are written by Porter Robinson, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lifelike" 1:35
2."Look at the Sky" 5:10
3."Get Your Wish" 3:39
4."Wind Tempos"
6:04
5."Musician"
3:59
6."Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do" 3:35
7."Mother" 3:46
8."Dullscythe" 4:00
9."Sweet Time" 4:12
10."Mirror" 5:07
11."Something Comforting" 4:42
12."Blossom" 3:46
13."Unfold" (with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs)
4:46
14."Trying to Feel Alive" 4:40
Total length:59:01
Japanese edition bonus track [50][51]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Fullmoon Lullaby" (with Wednesday Campanella)
4:03
Total length:63:04

Notes

Charts

Chart performance for Nurture
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[56] 27
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[57] 57
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[58] 50
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[59] 74
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[60] 5
US Billboard 200[61] 52
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[62] 6
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[63] 1
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[64] 7
US Rolling Stone Top 200[65] 11

References

  1. ^ a b Deville, Chris (January 27, 2021). "Porter Robinson – "Look At The Sky"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Walker, Sophie. "Collecting the fragments of an identity shattered, Nurture sees Porter Robinson rebuilding himself". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Devlin, Ben. "Porter Robinson – Nurture". musicOMH. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Lyons-Burt, Charles. "Porter Robinson's Nurture Revels in a Constant State of Change". Slant. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Joyce, Colin. "Porter Robinson: Nurture". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Paskin, Aaron. "Porter Robinson: Nurture". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Conaton, Chris. "Porter Robinson's 'Nurture' Combines Piano, Electronics, And Big Pop Hooks". PopMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "The 50 best albums of 2021". The Fader. December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". December 7, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  10. ^ Venzin, Megan (June 7, 2021). "Porter Robinson Finds Peace With Passionate New Album, 'Nurture'". The Recording Academy. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Best Albums of 2021: Top 50 Staff Picks". Billboard. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ a b "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Cameron, John. "Porter Robinson Drops "Get Your Wish" from Upcoming Album Alongside Heartfelt Letter". EDM.com – The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  14. ^ Z, George (November 28, 2016). "Porter Robinson and Madeon Confirm They Have No Other Plans To Collab After 'Shelter'". GDE. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  15. ^ Bain, Katie (May 3, 2021). "Porter Robinson Talks Madeon, Jon Hopkins and Other Artists He Picked to Play His 2021 Second Sky Festival". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Porter Robinson Talks Writing a 'Really Sincere Love Letter' to the Early 2000s With Virtual Self Project". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "Porter Robinson Announces 'Nurture' LP, New Song On the Way". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  18. ^ Meadow, Matthew (January 28, 2020). "Everything We Know About Porter Robinson's New Album, Starting with A Possible ODESZA Collab". Your EDM. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  19. ^ "Virtual Self fans uncover hidden info in website's source code". Dancing Astronaut. November 20, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  20. ^ Bein, Katie (April 21, 2021). "How Porter Robinson Found 'The Confidence I Used To Have' To Finish His Long-Awaited Second Album". Billboard. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  21. ^ Heffler, Jason (December 18, 2020). "Porter Robinson has completed "Nurture": "It's my favorite music I've ever made"". edm.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  22. ^ a b Sunkel, Cameron (April 13, 2021). "Porter Robinson reveals "Nurture" tracklist ahead of album release". edm.com. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  23. ^ Shirahama, Alan (April 25, 2021). "Porter Robinson Talks to Alan Shirahama About His New Album Nurture". block.fm. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  24. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (April 20, 2021). "Nurture vs. nature: How Porter Robinson's new album cover art blossomed". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  25. ^ "Porter Robinson – Mirror (Official Audio)". YouTube. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  26. ^ Heffler, Jason (January 13, 2020). "Porter Robinson Shares Preview, Announces Release Date of "Look At The Sky"". EDM.com. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  27. ^ Meadow, Matthew (February 26, 2021). "Porter Robinson Reveals Final 'Nurture' Single Release & Possible New Anime MV". Your EDM. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  28. ^ Heffler, Jason (March 17, 2021). "Porter Robinson drops official "Musician" anime video: Watch". EDM.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  29. ^ Darville, Jordan (April 22, 2021). "Porter Robinson shares "Unfold" featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs". The FADER. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  30. ^ "Porter Robinson announces full Secret Sky virtual festival lineup". DJ Mag. April 20, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  31. ^ Heffler, Jason (April 25, 2021). "Porter Robinson Uploads Strunning "Nurture Live" Secret Sky Set: Watch the Full Performance". Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  32. ^ Goldenberg, Ross (September 20, 2021). "Porter Robinson reinstates Second Sky with priceless sophomore festival [Watch]". Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  33. ^ Meadow, Matthew (May 10, 2021). "Porter Robinson Announces 30-Date 'Nurture' Live Tour For North America". Your EDM. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  34. ^ Rose, Mitchell (June 23, 2021). "Porter Robinson shares behind-the-scenes 'Nurture' tour preview". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  35. ^ Shutler, Ali (December 14, 2021). "Porter Robinson announces first UK and European tour in five years". NME. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  36. ^ "Nurture by Porter Robinson reviews". Any Decent Music. April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  37. ^ a b "Nurture by Porter Robinson Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  38. ^ Simpson, Paul. "Nurture - Porter Robinson | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  39. ^ a b Crowe, Josh. "Porter Robinson – Nurture". Clash. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  40. ^ Jolley, Ben. "Porter Robinson – 'Nurture' review: dance don trades bombast for blissed-out beats". NME. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  41. ^ Pappis, Konstantinos. "Album Review: Porter Robinson, 'Nurture'". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  42. ^ a b "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Our Culture Mag. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  43. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2021: Staff List". Billboard. December 7, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  44. ^ "The 100 best songs of 2021". The Fader. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  45. ^ "The 25 Best Songs of 2021". Our Culture Mag. December 22, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  46. ^ "The Best Electronic Music of 2021". NPR Music. NPR. December 11, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  47. ^ "Best Music of 2021". NPR Music. NPR. December 2, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  48. ^ Murray, Gordon (May 6, 2021). "Porter Robinson's 'Nurture' Debuts at No. 1 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  49. ^ "ポーター・ロビンソン：「リスナーに希望を与えたい」という気持ちが込められた、7年ぶりの最新作『ナーチャー』のトラックリストがついに公開。Sony Music Shopにて完全生産限定デラックスLPボックスの取り扱いも決定！ | ポーター･ロビンソン | ソニーミュージックオフィシャルサイト". ポーター･ロビンソン | Sony Music (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  50. ^ "iTunesランキング2位を記録した最新作『ナーチャー』の国内盤が本日発売！その発売を祝して水曜日のカンパネラ、高木正勝、Serphからのコメントが到着！本作初披露となった＜シークレット・スカイ・フェスティバル＞での1時間を超える圧巻のパフォーマンス映像も公開！" (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  51. ^ "Nuture Porter Robinson CD Album". CDjapan.co.jp. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  52. ^ Robinson, Porter [@porterrobinson] (April 23, 2021). "the guitar in this part is played by one of my musical heroes yvette young !! @youyve #nurture" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  53. ^ Robinson, Porter [@porterrobinson] (April 23, 2021). "i listened to and love that music and that's what drove me to dive into Wind Tempos – ultimately i included like a 0.5 second long sample of him playing the toy piano from while we were at his home, just as a little wax seal to close the love letter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  54. ^ Darville, Jordan (March 3, 2021). "Listen to Porter Robinson's new single "Musician"". The FADER. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  55. ^ Robinson, Porter [@porterrobinson] (March 11, 2021). "porter robinson on Twitter: "'musician' is actually built from a sample of an unreleased collaboration i started with @kerokerobonito – here's a visualization of how i chopped it up"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  56. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 3, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  57. ^ "Porter Robinson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  58. ^ "2021-05-05 on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  59. ^ "Nurture". Oricon. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  60. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
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  62. ^ "Porter Robinson Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  63. ^ "Porter Robinson Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  64. ^ "Porter Robinson Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  65. ^ "Top 200 Albums". Rolling Stone. May 4, 2021. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
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