Review Summary: The final two songs have enough meaning to pull through the rest of the album (skip to the final two songs)
EDM IS DEAD AND WE'VE KILLED IT
Genres of music are very much like their own organism. They come together and get born, experiment in their adolescence, thrive when a niche has been captured, and eventually come to their somewhat end. It has happened to some of the great genres in musical history, such as disco, dying out in the 70's, and even in many ways rock and roll. As classic rock and roll of the 60's grew so large, it effected so many that the very goals it set out to achieve (such as a seemingly teenage rebellion against questionable authority) eventually were achieved. Social standards changed to fit those in society better- and once the cocoon had been used up, it broke down into many different pieces sprinkling itself into different subgenres, birthing new waves of music. And music evolves throughout time which can be shown strongly by porter himself. His debut album spitfire was the product of such revolution. Brought into the industry as a homegrown producer, making tracks in his bedroom with his laptop akin to producers like skrillex and madeon, Porter brought the razor blades to the wave of EDM that was coming to rise.
With songs like spitfire killing it on beatport, and unison defining him as electronic dance music's wunderkind, Porter was very much at the forefront of Dance music's evolution.
Playing on ideas that had been used in years before but doing so in a way that brought a fresh take to the genre with its loveable aggressiveness.
Cue Language. Cue Language hitting mainstream radio stations. Cue electronic dance music's spread to the masses. This is a good time for EDM. Finally Being seen in the eyes of all. It had been done before by artists like deadmau5 and skrillex, but Porter's strong lack of vocals on language stood as one of the rare times a song using more synth than voice made it into the homes, construction sites, and car stereos around Australia.
Cue the bandwagon. Electronic dance music was bigger than ever. Gigs like EDC, ULTRA, and tomorrowland, reflective of how big it had grown. And so now everyone's a producer. Leaking it's way into the mainstream- so that Avicii and Calvin Harris stand as some of the most played radiobait in existence.
Cue the new wave of homegrown producers. Martin garrix, and borgore standing as the main culprit in this crime against music. Making stuff walking the fine line between music and ***, and leaning incredibly strongly to the *** side.
Edm, now represented with clicking and clipping in the mainstream, is starting to die. The genre is becoming noise at this point, and hence enter Worlds.
Porter Robinson's "allegedly" final dance music album. Released in a time that couldn't be more touching- as the kids of the hardwell/zedd phase are growing up, and maturing- just as porter is.
Worlds is an album that strongly assimilates itself with this idea that dance music is dying. Songs like "sad machine" representing the vast wasteland that is now the genre- and the recurrence of the robot voice in "fellow feeling" telling what the genre sounds like.
Several songs on the album can be skipped. Each one seeming to be a seperate allusion of todays Dance music, including everything from justice style chiptune, to flume style sub-bass, to m83 style ambient tracks. However some of these songs don't compare to the edgy angry beauty that spitfire was full of. But in many ways this version of porter is dead and has moved on. Matured beyond garrix styles of abrasive music.
Two tracks that cannot be skipped however are the final two- a very personal, intimate ode to the genre. Many artists like deadmau5 and knife party may release tracks that mock the style of mainstream edm in a cockhard, sarcastic way- so sure of their own success that they can make fun of the genre's dying. But porter doesn't do this. Instead he treats it delicately. Which is one of the most amazing parts of this album. It isn't a commentary. It is one man's farewell to something that made up his, mine, and most of the listeners lives. He is eulagising it, and commenting on the loss of something that was once so great- a 21st century ozymandius.
Musically it isn't the world's greatest album. Some smash hits, some songs to pass on. But the message is so delicate, and so touching that I felt as if I were waving goodbye to an old friend as he was carried away on a stretcher.
The genre will still exist for sure. It's become too large to just dissappear- but the edm of spitfire. the fun hardwell summer tracks are all in the past. replaced by hedonistic pieces of noise that devolve the genre unto it's death. And this commentary on it is meaningful, symbolic, and strongly needed at a time like now. Thank you porter robinson
