Porter Robinson has announced his third studio album ‘SMILE! :D’ and shared its euphoric new single ‘Knock Yourself Out XD’.
The dance musician has shared the news of his upcoming record, which will be released on July 26 via MOM+POP Records. So far, he has also shared the explosive song ‘Cheerleader‘ as a preview of the album, which you can pre-order here.
‘Knock Yourself Out XD’ continues Robinson’s pivot into a pop-oriented lane, as he sings: “I’m everything you talk about / Why should you keep letting yourself be let down? / If I’m еverything you talk about / I’m in the mirror, baby, let it all out / Knock yoursеlf out”.
Watch the music video for ‘Knock Yourself Out XD’ below:
‘Knock Yourself Out XD’ will be the follow-up to Robinson’s 2021 album ‘Nurture‘, which NME gave four stars: “While the title of final track ‘Trying To Feel Alive’ lays bare Porter’s years-long struggle with his mental health, it’s the closing words of ‘Mirror’ that most reflect the entire album and Porter’s journey as an artist: “Sometimes, the inner voice is encouraging, calling for you to run those final few yards / You’re nearly there – keep going, keep going; it will all be okay in the end”.”
In an interview about the album with NME, Robinson opened up about his fears that “I wouldn’t be able to ever make music again. And that was always my greatest fear.”
“I needed something that was so hopeful and kind of sweet,” he said of the tracks on ‘Nurture’. “I just wanted these sweet major key songs as it was what made my heart soar and made me feel kind of teary.”
The musician and avid gamer also spoke to NME in 2023 about the impact games have had on his life, with 2003’s Star Wars Galaxies inspiring his debut album ‘Worlds’ when its servers closed in 2011.
“That game will always mean a ton to me because I felt really, truly immersed in a virtual world for the first time,” shared Robinson. “It inspired my first album, because that online community shut down and the game [then] sort of ceased to be profitable and they shut the game down – I sort of had a home there, and I had communities and friends, and suddenly it all disappeared.”
In other news, Robinson has been announced alongside 50 other artists to have contributed to Daft Punk’s upcoming book After Daft.