NoMBe is Noah McBeth (which helps the name make sense), and LA-based future-soul musician who dropped “Young Hearts,” the second single off his debut album yesterday via Stereogum, and today we’re premiering the accompanying video.
Given today is Valentines Day, there couldn’t be a better week for McBeth to ramp up the story of his first-ever album, They Might’ve Even Loved Me, which concerns itself with all the women who have shaped his life, from “his godmother Chaka Khan, to high school crushes, girlfriends and summer flings.” Earlier this year, he kicked off the album with the debut single “Wait,” and “Young Hearts” builds on that same dreamy, electronic R&B vibe.
It’s no secret that NoMBe is impossibly romantic, but his personal history tells the story best. When he was 19, NoMBe took a class trip from his native Germany to Las Vegas. While the rest of the group headed back home, NoMBe chose to stay in the US and has been pursuing his creative dreams ever since. His debut album — and this first video and song — are the result.
Specifically, this album is about the crushing, obsessive power of love to overtake our brains, and the “Young Hearts” video doubles down on that idea with especially high stakes. It opens with a bride leaving her groom at the altar — but not for another man. Instead, she hops on the back of another woman’s motorcycle, and the two proceed to have the most idyllic, loved-up day traveling through the mountains, careening down empty highways, and dancing together in the wilderness.
Like most great loves, it can’t last, and the clip ends with the bride returning to the church steps where her despondent groom is still sitting. It’s a powerful commentary on the fleeting moments of love that end up meaning more to us than the realities of daily life, and how these fantasies can impact the course of our world. Most of all, it’s an incredibly strong aesthetic statement from an artist who is clearly on his way up — catch him now before he blows up this year.
The video was directed by Art Johnson and co-directed by NoMBe himself, full production credits below.
Directed by: Art Johnson for WALKGOOD Media
Co- Director: Noah McBeth (NoMBe)
Producers: Cathleen Cher, Hadas
Associate Producer: Tommy Dingwall
Director of Photography: Larkin Donley
Editor: Art Johnson
Coloring: Ryan McNeal
Production Company: Strita for TH3RD BRAIN
