Static wanes back and forth on the FM radio on top of a 50s mint green fridge in the kitchen.
The wind howls, swinging the chicken weather vane almost off its hinges. Dark clouds blanket the sky. You seem discouraged and lost, your plans for the day no longer. Static again but a weather lady in the mix, “High of 11 and low of 6, with a heavy low pressure system off th-," immediately back to static but now again with a mix of prodding drums and combos of warpy and stabby keys.
Baltimore artist Nourished By Time breaks through the gloom, unveiling twinkles and his baritone vocals over new-wave, RnB and soul. An emergence of The Passionate Ones slashes through the clouds, sky still dark but heart now more enriched and determined.
You look out the window, guitar melodies twirls louder, as sunlight is drawn out in nonuniformity. Sun showers form as the electronic phasers and tambourines coat Nourished By Time’s oddity-filled lyrics. Sparkling synth keys ring like bells and electric guitar gyrates like fractals.
By the time we arrive at the final moments of the album the sun is completely out. Angelic rays float through the sky picking patches of earth to spot light. The Passionate Ones is life-affirming music. Retro, but without pastiche; instead, a radical sense of resolve and hope.
Words by badbitchbenny