Several songs on
Nurture explore Robinson's struggles with depression and writer's block. Simpson wrote that "
Mirror" and "
Something Comforting" both address Robinson's self-critical inner voice, while "Musician" focuses on overcoming the burnout that was preventing him from writing music. Lyons-Burt felt that "Look at the Sky" has a "sense of disillusionment", but
Pitchfork Colin Joyce noted that it also looks ahead to a brighter future, calling it a "ballad of hard-won optimism". Jolley felt that the closing song "Trying to Feel Alive" also reflects Robinson's struggles with his mental health. However, Joyce felt that the song shows Robinson has realized that "struggle gives life its color in the first place". According to Simpson, Robinson expresses the futility of striving for a "finish line", and instead learning to find fulfillment in simply living and creating music. According to Robinson,
Nurture has a focus on "finding the beauty in everyday and reality as it is", which is reflected in the album's tagline of "everything we need is already here". This idea of finding beauty had left an impression on Robinson after watching
Wolf Children. He contrasted this with
Worlds, which he felt was more about "escaping to faraway dreamlands". Jolley felt that Robinson's rediscovery of "the beauty of everyday life" led to a renewed appreciation for the natural world. As a result, the album incorporates more organic sounds, as well as more acoustic instruments like the piano and orchestra. Paskin noted this theme in the opening song "Lifelike", which makes use of piano, strings, and ambient bird sounds; Robinson himself described the song as "a window into the worldview of
Nurture". However, multiple critics noted the juxtaposition of artificial and natural elements in the album, such as the clean and processed versions of Robinson's voice, and the usage of synthesizers along with the acoustic instruments. Robinson explores a new theme of family on
Nurture, dedicating a song to his mother, and two to his partner Rika Mikuriya; Jolley wrote that here Robinson renders himself "more vulnerable than ever before". According to Pappis, "Sweet Time" describes the feeling of falling so deeply in love that one faces "the fear of dying for the first time". Simpson noted the contrast between the introspection of the album and the "fantasy, escapism, and technology" of Robinson's previous works. Joyce especially highlighted the thematic differences with the music video of "Shelter", which features a simulation that is created to escape a dystopic reality. Jolley concluded that the closing quote of "Mirror" is a reflection of "[Robinson]'s journey as an artist" and the message of the album as a whole. Reflecting on the overall tone of the album, Robinson said that it is "very melancholic; there's a lot of pain, there's a lot of sadness, but there's also a lot of hope".
Papers Matt Moen considers this hope to be what
Nurture is ultimately about, noting that the album's liner notes includes a wish from Robinson for listeners to be "reminded that life is worthwhile". Critics noted multiple influences on Robinson's stylistic choices on the album.
Spectrum Culture Aaron Paskin found the reflective lyrics and piano riff of "Get Your Wish" to be reminiscent of
Bon Iver's "
33 'God'" (2016). Both Conaton and
Slant Charles Lyons-Burt identified a reference to the piano riff of
LCD Soundsystem's "
All My Friends" (2007), with Conaton also noting a reference to
the Postal Service's "
Such Great Heights" (2003) in "Dullscythe". Paskin compared the sampling technique used in "
Musician" to the approaches of
Daft Punk. Walker noted that Robinson's work is heavily influenced by
J-pop and Japanese culture, and "Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do", according to Simpson, contains elements from the
Shibuya-kei genre. Reviewers also attributed the more atmospheric tone in some songs to the influence of
Joe Hisaishi and the soundtracks of
Studio Ghibli's films, with Conaton finding similarities in "Wind Tempos", and Walker citing the opening song "Lifelike". Speaking about the ambient songs, Robinson stated that
Masakatsu Takagi and his work on the soundtrack of
Wolf Children (2012) were "one of the first inspirations". Additionally, Robinson has said that his contemporary Madeon was a major inspiration for his work, and cited the album
Good Faith (2019) as a key influence for
Nurture. == Release and touring ==