From “Once or Twice, I prayed to Jesus…” to “…she said she knows what Jesus knows, idiot in the park”, Nourished By Time (AKA Marcus Elliot Brown) naturally evokes existential questions in a nonchalant manner. The beauty of Marcus’ lyrics are further highlighted by his unique approach to instrumentation. On The Passionate Ones, his newest release on XL Recordings, that instrumentation is put on full display. There are many artists that flirt with nostalgic tones, but very few that can consistently generate those feelings with every. Single. Instrument. On. Every. Single. Track.
It feels effortless. Each track has multiple synth leads, guitar tones, and chord pads that provide beautiful context to the post-capitalist, post-religion and also post-confusion world that Marcus presents clearly.
“Maybe I’m afraid of the future
Demons on their way to confuse you
Maybe it’s the comfort I’m?used?to”
The coolest part? Almost every posed question is resolved by a simple answer.
“If?I’m gonna go?insane, at least?I’m loved by you
If my heart should burst or break, it was overdue
If I’m gonna go insane”
It’s all about the love, baby! Get lost in a soundscape of dystopian rhythms, R&B bass lines and sweet lyrics about longingly loving the experience.