NOURISHED BY TIME - The Passionate Ones

In 2023, with “Erotic Probiotic 2”, Marcus Eliott Brown made his first appearance on the scene. The album was very well received: catchy melodies, a broad sweep of '80s sound, and a certain emotional charge. Two years on, we find Marcus Eliott Brown, aka Nourished By Time, still there, playing with a musical palette that ranges from synth-pop to r'n'b, from soul to dance, composing stories of waiting and loneliness, poised between disillusionment and hopes of redemption. The new record has a less enigmatic title than its predecessor, and immediately places emotions at the heart of its themes.

"Automatic Love" is a track that at first glance might seem rather upbeat and carefree, with its syncopated intro and a chorus that would work perfectly sung along by a crowd at a show, but then you notice there's no choir, and no irony in the voice either—just a lot of coldness, despite all the talk of love. A little more warmth comes through on the following "Idiot In The Park", but the account of the dialogue with the psychic leaves more uncertainty and ambiguity around the need to have someone close.

"Max Potential", one of the singles that preceded the album, lifts the anguish to a more general dimension, beyond paranoia and social pressure; the call to develop one's potential to the fullest wears individuals down and compresses even their feelings, because love isn't the hope of the future but a memory that remains, partly making up for failure, while relationships too collapse into incommunicability.

A kind of integration can be glimpsed in "It's Time", but the lack of reference points (personal, religious) and the desire not to resign oneself to mediocrity ultimately give way to substances and to a mental prison crowded with mysterious, ambiguous symbols.

However, after "Cult Interlude", the overall mood lifts a little: "9 2 5" has a somewhat more easygoing feel; it's still a story of attempts at redemption and getting by in a hostile world, but also an invitation not to let oneself be completely erased by the system, despite alienating jobs and time passing. The following "Crazy People" also leans into a more danceable rhythm, as well as a long synth interlude. "Jojo" is one of the best-performed tracks, in which the singer's baritone performance ventures into multiple registers, before giving way to Tony Bontana's rap verse. That rap is picked up again by Brown himself on the following "Baby Baby", a very unusual track, since halfway through the music takes over and the voice becomes just one element within a larger whole.

"Tossed Away" is a ballad, somewhere between crooner and soul, more traditional than the rest of the tracks, where the lyrics too grow warmer and more romantic. The same goes for "The War Is Over", which boasts one of the album's finest melodies and offers another moment of partial serenity. The album closes with the title track, which keeps the calmer mood of the record's final songs.

In conclusion, “The Passionate Ones” is a well-produced, well-sung album that confirms Brown's talent as both a singer and a musician. The lyrics are often essential, managing without wordiness to say what needs to be said and to voice his concerns, without ever letting them take over completely.

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30/11/2025