I'll be honest, I absolutely hated the new album. It's not what I wanted from Porter, but if he has new fans and he enjoys what he does more doing pop, more power to him.
I haven't had a chance to listen to the new album, but it's a bit sad to hear it went in a poppier direction.
Honestly though, Worlds is a masterpiece that was created as pushback against the EDM trends of the time when it was released. It's not necessarily unfair comparison, but it is a recipe for disappointment if that's what you're going to use as your baseline for all new music.
Well I really loved Worlds too. It dropped just after I got to know his music so I was super excited to be around at the time. The shelter era was also great but after he went to pursue the virtual self project I kind of lost interest and didn't keep up with new music form Porter.
To me Smile is also a serious change of pace from before but I've since started listening to hyperpop so part of the album is really hitting that spot for me :)
Don't let me keep you from enjoying Smile! I think I'm just more on the hardcore end of EDM, and Worlds is probably on the mellower end of what I would enjoy.
I've recently gotten into speedcore if that gives you any idea ;)