Preaching to The Passionate One's
Marcus Brown, better known as Nourished by Time, has just released The Passionate Ones, true gospel for the dreamers. And like any good gospel, it instilled a flicker of hope in me.
Recently, there has been a shift among the youth, people are turning to religion, looking for something to lift their spirits, or guide them. Well, this album evokes that for me. Whilst Marcus Brown is no pastor, his tone and voice carry him like one. A preacher whose gospel sounds nostalgic, a reflection of how times haven’t changed.
The Passionate Ones is a culmination of the insane amount of work Marcus Brown has put in over the last 6 years. He has been working overtime to reach this point, and I know this album is going to position him even higher than Erotic Probiotic, his first album released with Scenic Route, did. Since his first album to now, his sound and message have evolved as his life has changed, and it has not necessarily been the change he expected.
Album Review
The album opens with Automatic Love, and the tone is set. This lofi, electronic, dreamy instrumental, immediately positions us in Nourished by Time’s universe and it is one haunted by the most intense emotions one can feel. In this world of surrealism, we indulge in longing as the opening track illustrates his passiveness in finding love.
The opener is about seeking love and is so different from his mindset about making music, where he chases. When it comes to a relationship, he is hoping to attract, let it come organically, automatically. This wishful thinking is heard again in Tossed Away, rather heartbreaking but his use of synths makes it bitter sweet. It is a soft opener, yet helps us understand where he’s at mentally.
Idiot in the Park, brings religion subtly into focus. Marcus Brown is seeking love, and this narrative feels like he has found an angel, yet it quickly unravels. The framing makes us see that this fantasy is not what it seems.
It’s like childhood love, or young love, innocent or idiotic. Referring to himself over and over as an ‘idiot’, self-deprecatingly lets us know that this relationship is lost. However, as he addresses them both as ‘idiots’ it is an acceptance that it's not just his fault, and that blame is shared. Clarity.
A collective feel is present in Max Potential. Coming off of a low, we’re jolted into this romantic break. Following perfectly from Idiot in the Park, this song is a response to the relationship we have become aware of. ‘If I'm gonna go insane, At least I’m loved by you’ is such a romantic line, as it shows how deeply love and infatuation affects us. The instrumental, loops on loops, with a slashing guitar, and his lyrics repeating themselves over, it feels like we're spiralling with him.
It’s Time is a playful one. One of my favourites from this album instrumentally. It is just insanely fluid and uplifting, with again nods to religion. On this track, there is so much room for the production to shine, and it deserves to be heard. At the end of this track, I thought the bell-like jingle carrying us out into the Cult Interlude was perfect.
This interlude is a wonderful transition into the rest of the album. It is a break from the sound we expect as it is eerie, however still follows convention being whirly and echoing. This unsettling feeling is from the atmospheric track being distorted, chopped up, and is voiced by an unfamiliar man about cults. To go from this, to such a bouncy and dance-y track, it is almost like we have been put in a trance, apart of this cult.
9 2 5, released during the album rollout, is still inspiring. This song is for believers, made by a believer. In 2019, he began working overtime, giving his all to make his career what it is today. And the build up to where he is now is matched with the drums and the snares under that sampled, distorted, in-and-out, vocal which really makes us feel like a dissociated retail worker. Dissociated from where we are, lost in thoughts, as customers complain, we’re dreaming.
From Cult Interlude to BABY BABY, I was enamoured, this was the strongest part. Crazy People is ridiculously good, and following from 9 2 5, it just feels like a boiling point. There is annoyance in his tone, and the warped, shaking instrumental is a perfect fit. His vocals and lyrics on this track are very fun, and this is a pop song to me. It is what I want from pop. And the loud stab, after ‘But crazy people don’t have to tell you that they’re crazy’ feels like a gasp; the music is reacting to his words. The way this track transforms is magnetic.
Following such a strong track, we go into the only collaboration on this project with Tony Bontana. This British artist knows what it means to work overtime, to be driven, as he is a passionate one. Since 2019, he has also been putting out an insane amount of work. And the collaboration with them both is perfect. Tony’s sound is so strong and when his voice dips slightly, slightly breaking, he carries the track.
I was very shocked to see him on the album, and also very grateful. Tony Bontana delivers perfectly and thanks to this feature, I think he will gain some traction. Nourished by Time hasn’t forgotten where he has come from, and is using his power to bring people in, put people on and get messages across that people are dodging.
BABY BABY is that surrealist track, where Marcus Brown is reflecting on his success and the current state of the world. This song is about passion, obsession and dissatisfaction covered in glitter. It feels like a distraction really, and the layering of sounds is to stimulate. This track is a maximalist sound to dance to.
That dance would come to an end quickly if you're listening to this album in order however as we are spat out from that hypereality back to heartbreak and desperation in finding love. This one is slowed down, yet it twinkles. This whole album has 90’s R’n’B remnants. And this track is definitely one. His vocals are very soft in this track, and build up as it progresses, as the emotion intensifies.
Another slow one follows, with a piano melody that feels familiar, a little Aphex Twin-like. This one is kind of ambient and moody. We went from the high to low after Cult Interlude. It was like we joined, and found joy, or at least sounded joyous, and have come back down to reality, escaping that world. It comes back to love.
The final track, The Passionate Ones, is an emotional release. We are spat out, drifting through the cosmos, feeling a variety of things. One, still being, passion. It is his driving force, and his desire to seek more doesn't stop; however his anxieties are present. Whilst this track felt chaotic to me, because of the whirls and loops, like we have lost him, or he has lost himself. Maybe we’re just witnessing transformation. And rather than seeing it as losing himself, we should reframe it as finding his footing.
This album beautifully expresses his fears and feelings, his story and future and I feel very satisfied. More than. This album has lived up to the hype for me and I think a lot of these songs will hook people in. Thank you for reading this review. Comment below, what you guys think about this album, I would love to know.