Stream: NoMBe, ‘Young Hearts’

Kevin Bronson on February 14th, 2017

1

Singer-songwriter-producer Noah McBeth — aka NoMBe — makes minimalist R&B with maximum results. He put himself on the map in 2015 with “California Girls,” a single that if you combine all services (and include the Sonny Alven rework) has probably been streamed more than 20 million times. In January, NoMBe began releasing his debut album “They Might’ve Even Loved Me” one song at a time, starting with the stunner “Wait.” This week comes “Young Hearts” (and along with it an evocative video co-directed by Art Johnson and McBeth), with NoMBe’s buttery voice sighing over guitar riffs pulled like heartstrings, tinkling keys, baked effects and restrained beats.

“Like the rest of us, the first time I was in love was the most pleasantly painful experience of my life,” NoMBe says. “There was no point of reference for how to cope. When you are truly obsessed with another human, you are convinced that you have everything to offer to this significant one, but can only marinate in confusion over the fact that she (or he) just isn’t able to see it. You may want to die for this person, you may want to abandon everything. This may even seem plausible in that given moment because you simply can’t fathom life without them. This feeling evolves over time and I think love becomes more complex as we get older. ‘Young Hearts’ is dedicated to that unadulterated feeling (pun intended) that we only get once. Raw, uncontrolled and unexpected.”

||| Stream: “Young Hearts” and “Wait”