Nourished By Time announces new EP Catching Chickens, drops “Hand On Me”

Nourished By Time has shared a new song called “Hand On Me.” It’s the lead single from Catching Chickens, the Baltimore singer-producer’s debut EP with XL Recordings and his first since the April arrival of Erotic Probiotic 2, one of The FADER’s favorite albums of 2023. While that record was recorded in his parents’ basement and released on the small English label Scenic Route Records — making its visionary production and masterful mixing all the more impressive — the forthcoming project will be backed by one of the world’s few remaining powerful indies. The five-track tape is due out March 22.

“Hand On Me” is a sprightly cut that feels both shorter and longer than it actually is. On the one hand, its mesmeric but speedy pulse makes it fly by. On the other, NBT packs it so full of ingenious, instantly classic melodies, harmonies, and textures that the track’s sub-four-minute runtime feels implausible. “Have you never loved somebody?” he asks, his magnetic, velvety baritone blanketed by a panoply of sumptuous synths. “I’m always in a memory,” he sings later, “And I think I might be crazy / ’Cause I felt a hand on me.”

According to a press release, the name Catching Chickens was inspired by the scene from Rocky II in which the titular boxer’s trainer Mickey makes him chase a rooster around in a back alley to test his agility. The “Hand On Me” music video, directed by NBT and shot by Josh Renaut doesn’t feature any live fowl, but Nourished By Time does show off some back-alley shadowboxing moves. Watch the clip below, followed by DSP streams of “Hand On Me” and Catching Chickens’ cover art and tracklist.