Hi, everyone. Quickthony Nicetano. Here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this Nourished by Time album, The Passionate Ones.

Nourished by Time is the musical project of Baltimore native Marcus Elliott Brown, who is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer. And what of Mr. Brown's music I have heard so far, it sounds like the logical conclusion of an underground that has been just, I would say, steeped in years of terminally online weirdo rap, bedroom pop, vintage R&B with an alternative twist, hypnagogic pop too, and strange sterile cold post-punky atmospheres. If you want to dig further on his influences, his website has a page called 'History', which is dedicated to a lot of the music that has inspired him over the years.

Now, his debut album back in 2023, Erotic Probiotic, was cheered on by a lot of critics for its interesting genre fusions, as well as lyrical depth. That would make this new one here his sophomore release. For this new one, he actually signed to XL Recordings. I got to say, with no ifs, ands, or buts about it, this is definitely his best work to date, with 12 tracks, 45 minutes of run time, all of which grabbed my attention originally off of the single "Baby Baby", which is like a left field banger with some insane genre of combos going on. It's like a lost synth pop gem, topped with these rap-sung vocals that feel vaguely inspired by Death Grips's MC Ride, if he was taking a much more chill approach. And this comes complete with an odd mix of lyrics that sway between shots at Western imperialism and also a lot of flirty, lovesick lyrics, too.

This track, as well as many others on this record, are just fun as hell to listen to, especially considering how purposefully messy and also rickety some of the production is. There's actually a lot of hypnagogic theatrics going on deeper into the tracklist of this album, because Mr. Brown is not just delivering us some really cool, catchy blends of pop and R&B, but also doing his best to present them in a way to where they sound like some musical artifact that's lost in time, like maybe some '90s R&B demo that was rejected by the label way back when, and is now just seeing the light of day to day where we can actually appreciate some of the ideas going into these songs.

Now, I will say some of the instrumentation, singing, and mixing here and there can be a little too rough around the edges for my taste, especially considering there are some very impressive vocal performances on some of the tracks here. When that quality does significantly drop off, like with some of the vocals on "Crazy People", I'm like, I feel like this could have been performed better. I feel the same way about a lot of the instrumentation on "Tossed Away".

But still, beyond that, there are plenty of sharply crafted weirdo pop and R&B anthems throughout the rest of this project, like "Idiot in the Park", which not only has one of the strongest melodies on this entire LP – and the lyrics on this track? Some of the funiest on the entire record. They're written with a tone that comes across very romantic, a little infatuated, that thing. But there's all these allusions to the person that is being sung about being a psychic or a a fortune teller of some sort, and might have all these insights that freaks out the protagonist of the song. The music on this track as well provides this Mandela effect type moment in a way. I don't know if it's the production or just how familiar some of the melodies and chords are, but I feel like I've heard this song at some point before long into my past, but obviously, I haven't.

I feel the same way about the song "9 2 5", too, but I attribute that mostly to just how well it embodies a lot of vintage dance music styles with some touches of freestyle and house. The track "Max Potential" has some of the most epic hooks on the entire record, backed with some glammy keys and fuzz guitars. Those classic rock influences really come through on this one. And the disco grooves and spacy atmospheres of its time. On this track, I hear echoes of artists and producers who were at one time 10 years or more pitchfork darling, such as Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi fame or Twin Shadow's George William Louis Jr.

The track "Jojo" has a really cool crossover with UK rapper Tony Bontana that provides a nice switch up in the tracklist. And the strong moments continue into the final moments of the record as well. The track "When the War is Over" is not only such a potent and incredible vibe, but the chorus and the songwriting is just so good as well. I love that this guy just continues to produce and create music throughout this record that feels so obscure and a bit strange, but the strokes of genius and the songwriting are so good. They shine through it all anyway.

And then the closing title track is really the biggest moment on the entire record in terms of just instrumental layering and presentation. It really is a big finale and finish that shows that Mr. Brown here was really locked in and focused on the flow and progression of this album, even with that interesting cult interlude in the midst of the tracklist as well.

The record does truly have a great flow to it. Again, a lot of fun songs, a lot of great highlights, a lot of interesting production that seemingly does a lot with a little, creates some great and inspiring moments despite being pulled together on what sounds like a shoestring budget. But still, a lot of creativity comes through in that.

But yeah, really impressed with this album, and I think Nourished by Time already very early on in this catalog is showcasing a lot of talent, a lot of great ideas. Surely somebody who, if he continues at this pace, is going to be dominating the underground of R&B for at least a minute, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong 8 on this album.

Anthony Fantano, Nourished by Time, Forever.