Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
“Do you want to feel alive again?”
In its penultimate week, what has been a very eventful month presents music listeners with a hidden gem - The Passionate Ones, the second studio album by Maryland-born singer-songwriter Marcus Elliot Brown, who makes music under the alias Nourished By Time. Set to release on August 22nd via XL Recordings, this record occupies quite a singular niche within the music world, and is likely to go down as one of the under-the-radar surprise packages of the year.
The principal reason why this LP is so unique is its effortless mix-and-match of genres and sounds. The Passionate Ones draws elements and inspiration from R&B, electropop, hip-hop, bedroom pop, funk and a variety of other styles, making it an incredibly unpredictable, charming and eclectic body of work. Brown feels totally at home on every track, showing great artistic versatility with his genuine, emotional vocals.
The aforementioned vocals often drift back into the overall flow of the tracks, which are given an otherworldly, shimmering feel by the bubbling, sometimes glitchy synths and the overall dreamy, vibrant production. This slight hazy quality makes the slower-paced tracks feel incredibly intimate and personal, such as “Tossed Away” and “Max Potential”. Meanwhile, the faster-paced songs, like “Automatic Love” or the title track, gain a hypnotic feel to them, enhancing their grooves significantly.
Lyrically, the album fits into the overall themes of Brown’s discography - focusing largely on personal emotional ups and downs, but setting them against the background of a society ruled by late-stage capitalism and all the negative effects that come with it. The messaging is fairly subtle, and doesn’t really take center stage at any point, but it’s present enough to be noticeable, and executed well.
In conclusion, I believe there’s a lot of people who would enjoy The Passionate Ones. There’s something here for fans of artists all across the board, from Tyler, The Creator to Magdalena Bay to d4vd and many more. It doesn’t necessarily revolutionize any of the genres it utilizes, but the combination itself is very solid and compelling. It’s a very strong collection of tracks from an artist unafraid to explore different sides of his musicianship.
7.8/10
