The music world is just that bit more exciting with people like Nourished By Time pushing the boundaries.

Bear with me on this, but if you want to know what listening to a Nourished By Time record is like, my closest call for comparison would be a speedy game of pass the parcel. You only know what you’re getting into at around twenty percent but as each layer in unravelled, a new gift is presented. ‘Catching Chickens’ is pop that is uncompromising and fun to engage with, offering a memorable chorus that infects your brain for the foreseeable. Rejecting the concepts of what it means to make a pop song, the irreverent lambasting lyrics and switching genres makes it sure that there is nobody doing it like him. After a successful debut LP from the Baltimore musician, he follows up with an EP to further affirm his distinctive sound and territories he is influenced by. 

‘Hell Of a Ride’ begins with shoe gaze intonations before ascending into an OutKast melodic line that isn’t too dissimilar from dream pop. It works as a track that is made for being blasted through speakers during the warmer months of the year, for the passenger princesses to stick their head out of the window and vibe to during the oncoming brighter months. Keeping up with the referential sounds can feel redundant, so perhaps it’s better to enjoy the journey than stick a genre label on what is taking place. Still, it’s impressive to recognise what has formed the basis of this sound that is so familiar and yet so idiosyncratic due to the fusions taking place. 

‘Hand On Me’ sticks out for its gorgeous synth lines that throwback to the 80s pop fever. He creates this heat of an epic love song, portraying melodrama, and theatrical emotions in the track ‘Poison Soaked’, entering ballad territory with an emotive lead guitar performance accompanied with laments on the past, as he sings ‘I’ll be anything a person can be/If it’ll bring her back to me’.

‘Had Ya Called’ tells a tale of an old friend chained to the rhythm, distinctively fusing funk sentimentalities with its bass line. The chorus bursts into a synth heaven that comes with the cloudy, whimsical types of sounds emitted from early synthesizers (is that a Roland Juno I’ve been hearing all this time?). It would work well as an introduction track to what Nourished By Time is as a musical project, taking elements of his influences to harbour something so distinctively his own. 

‘Romance In Me’ wraps up this trove, with its Boys II Men melody and Marcus’ voice being perfect for this serenading croon that is intrinsic to pulling off this sort of R&B sound.

This collection of songs and overall succinct EP are a nice dose of striking songs that further build the world of Nourished By Time. Don’t be fooled by the collaging of genres, this is at the earnest routed in black music. The music world is just that bit more exciting with people like Nourished By Time pushing the boundaries.