Pitchfork Best New Album Nourished by Time Erotic Probiotic 2 乐评&翻译

Filtering the sound of ’80s freestyle through a buoyant, time-warped haze, the debut album from singer/producer Marcus Brown is both captivating and elusive.

歌手/制作人 Marcus Brown 的首张专辑通过轻快、时间扭曲的阴霾过滤 80 年代freestyle的声音，既迷人又难以捉摸。

With their inquisitive pop music under the name Nourished by Time, singer and producer Marcus Brown rummages through the past like an archaeologist. Since 2019, the Baltimore-raised, London-based crooner has released a series of singles exploring a wide range of 1980s touchstones including new wave, electro-funk, and R&B. On his brief 2022 release Erotic Probiotic, he condensed these influences to two tracks of brooding and fluid synth-pop that recalled Depeche Mode and the Blue Nile. A year later, they’ve taken to another ’80s staple: freestyle. The genre of roller rinks, impassioned belting, and uptempo 808 beats invigorates Brown’s once-muted approach. It’s his debut album, but he sounds reborn.

歌手兼制作人马库斯·布朗 (Marcus Brown) 凭借他以时间滋养为名的新奇的流行音乐，像考古学家一样翻遍过去。自 2019 年以来，这位在巴尔的摩长大、居住在伦敦的歌手发行了一系列单曲，探索 1980 年代的各种试金石，包括新浪潮、电子放克和 R&B。在他 2022 年发行的简短 Erotic Probiotic 中，他将这些影响浓缩为两条沉思和流畅的合成流行乐曲目，让人想起 Depeche Mode 和 Blue Nile。一年后，他们转向了另一个 80 年代的主打项目:freestyle。溜冰场、激昂的腰带和快节奏的 808 节拍的风格为布朗曾经沉默的方法注入了活力。这是他的首张专辑，但他听起来像是涅槃重生了。

Erotic Probiotic 2 plays like a sampler of a time-warped ’80s that took place entirely in Brown’s head—and maybe extends into the present day. In these apparitional songs, Jodeci harmonies float over Paul Hardcastle synth drizzles; Larry Blackmon screams spring off of RZA drums; warped samples of podcast-era Joe Budden and ESPN’s Jay Williams melt into a shoegaze thicket. Brown likely has some personal connections to these disparate sources, but he completely sublimates those attachments into the songwriting. The result is music that is studied but uncouth, familiar but unbidden.

Erotic Probiotic 2 就像一个时间扭曲的 80 年代的采样器，它完全发生在 Brown 的脑海中——也许会延续到今天。在这些幽灵般的歌曲中，Jodeci 的和声飘过 Paul Hardcastle 合成器的细雨；拉里·布莱克蒙 (Larry Blackmon) 的尖叫声从 RZA 的鼓声中迸发出来；播客时代的 Joe Budden 和 ESPN 的 Jay Williams 的扭曲样本融入了鞋履灌木丛。布朗可能与这些不同的来源有一些个人联系，但他将这些依恋完全升华到歌曲创作中。做出来的音乐效果是精雕细琢但像不施粉黛，听感熟悉却像来自自然。

The freestyle credo is that anything goes—rapping, piping, scatting—as long as the rhythm doesn’t let up, and this ethos emboldens Brown to freefall through time. Single “Daddy” begins with pulsing drum programming, ascendant harmonies, and a cheery rap verse that initially evokes hip-house. But then nocturnal synths and a sour guitar melody descend, and Brown’s vocals turn forlorn for the second verse. “The dot connector/The spot corrector/I say I love you/You say whatever,” they chant on the jubilant but fretting chorus. “Dot connector” is a fitting phrase for their approach, reflecting both the vaporous subject matter and Brown’s expert weaving of styles.

freestyle的信条是，只要节奏不停止，任何事情都会发生——说唱、滚奏、口技，这种精神鼓励布朗在时间里自由落体。单曲“Daddy”以脉动的鼓声、上升的和声以及最初让人联想到嘻哈音乐的欢快的说唱开始。但随后夜间合成器和酸涩的吉他旋律下降，布朗的声音在第二节变得凄凉。 “点连接器/点校正器/我说我爱你/你随便说什么，”他们在欢快但令人烦恼的合唱中吟唱。 “点连接器”是他们方法的恰当短语，既反映了空洞的主题，也反映了布朗对风格的专业编织。

This vision stands out on “The Fields.” The skittering hi-hats, snappy snares, and buoyant bassline suggest Miami bass, while the questioning vocals root the performance in freestyle. “Once or twice I prayed to Jesus/Never heard a word back in plain English/More like signs or advertisements/Telling me to keep consumerizing,” Brown sings on the bouncy hook, lost in the mixed messages of the modern world. They don’t sink into despair though; voicing his confusion pushes him to keep seeking answers.

这一愿景在“田野”中脱颖而出。跳跃的踩镲、活泼的军鼓和轻快的贝斯线让人联想到迈阿密低音，而质疑的人声则以自由式表演为基础。 “有一两次我向耶稣祈祷/从未听到简单的英语回复/更像是标志或广告/告诉我要继续消费，”布朗在有弹性的钩子上唱道，迷失在现代世界的混合信息中。不过，他们并没有陷入绝望；表达他的困惑促使他不断寻求答案。

The singing onErotic Probiotic 2 is as homespun as the production. Brown has a liquid baritone that can percolate with ache or froth with joy, and here it does both and more. Opener “Quantum Suicide” features expressive whispers, shouts, coos, and moans that inject intimacy into the bleak subject matter. “Have you ever prayed/For your invention?” they ask. On “Soap Party,” his voice recedes into misty key melodies and propulsive drums as he confesses to being scared to make a move in a relationship. “The truth is in the sun/But there’s comfort in rain,” they sing. It’s one of many moments on the album where the exuberance of the songwriting belies feelings of inertia and indecision.

Erotic Probiotic 2 的歌声与制作一样朴实无华。布朗有一种流动的男中音，可以随着疼痛而渗出，也可以随着喜悦而起泡，而在这里，它既可以做到，也可以做到更多。开场曲“量子自杀”以富有表现力的耳语、叫喊、咕咕声和呻吟为特色，为凄凉的主题注入了亲切感。 “你有没有为你的发明祈祷过？”他们问。在“肥皂派对”中，当他承认害怕在一段关系中采取行动时，他的声音逐渐退化为模糊的旋律和推进鼓。 “真相在阳光下/但雨中有安慰，”他们唱道。这是专辑中的许多时刻之一，歌曲创作的丰富性掩盖了惯性和优柔寡断的感觉。

Despite the retro sounds, Brown studiously avoids nostalgia in his work, an approach that’s refreshing but comes at the expense of vulnerability. Other pop syncretists, like Sudan Archives, Moodymann, and Yves Tumor bring out the appetite and longing in their songs, each acquired curio divulging something about the collector’s urges or facilitating a grand aesthetic. Not so much with Erotic Probiotic 2. Freestyle could be Nourished by Time’s artistic roadmap, or just a passing interest. It’s a testament to these engrossing performances that, wherever they go next, they will probably sound right at home.

尽管有复古的声音，布朗在他的作品中刻意避免怀旧，这种方法令人耳目一新，但以脆弱为代价。 Sudan Archives、Moodymann 和 Yves Tumor 等其他流行音乐融合者在他们的歌曲中表达了胃口和渴望，每个人都获得了古玩，透露了收藏家的冲动或促进了一种宏伟的审美。 Erotic Probiotic 2 就不是那么回事了。Freestyle 可能是歌手的艺术指南地图，或者只是一时的兴趣。这些引人入胜的表演证明，无论他们接下来去哪里，他们都可能听起来很自在。