The cover for Worlds, released August 12th

On August 12, Electronic Dance Music frontrunner Porter Robinson released his debut album Worlds and compared to his earlier Electro works such as the Spitfire EP, this album is extremely different. For one, Porter steps away from EDM to produce music with more of an Indietronica or Synthpop feeling. Some of the songs on the album are similar to works by M83 or Passion Pit- Indie music with elements of Electronic music thrown in as well. That’s not to say the entire album feels like an Indietronica release. Some songs blend in elements from EDM, Hip-Hop, Ambient music, and even more. The album doesn’t quite just stick to these sounds though. There are some similar songs, but the way the tracks are arranged help the differentiate the kinds of songs you hear.

One of the great things about Worlds is that Porter vividly expresses himself with the music he makes. Not necessarily through lyrical content or themes, but literally through the music itself. He uses video game synths, Vocaloids (Japanese voice synthesizers), and several other quirky production details to give you a taste of what he’s like as a person and his interests. The album is largely influenced by old video games, anime, and other things within that spectrum. All in all the album is kind of geeky, really, (don’t worry, it’s not like Porter makes major references to, or remixes of, anything geeky, he just lets that stuff influence the overall sound of the album) but it’s still fun to listen to. Production is as crisp as it gets, and some of the tracks on this album are incredible.

With Worlds, Porter shows that Electronic music isn’t just to dance to, but rather that Electronic music can be used as a great medium of self-expression to a huge audience. My favorite part of the album are the last three tracks. Songs like “Sea of Voices” and “Fellow Feeling” are actually beautiful to say the least (So much so that I actually got chills from listening to them) and other tracks like “Flicker“ are just really fun to listen to because of all of the influences blended in there. Maybe I’m just partial, but I haven’t heard music this refreshingly beautiful in a good while. EDM producers are the masters of sound design and Porter knows that. That’s what makes this album so good. Porter knows how to create a great soundscape without putting in a bass drop or other intrusive elements to suddenly break that up. Overall, I’d give this a nine out of ten. Great job Porter, can’t wait for the next album!