Love, memory, and distortion. We all know love to be blinding and memory unreliable, but the less mentioned yet unavoidable combination of the two leaves the affected in a haze of muddled thoughts and conflicting emotions. When left alone we replay moments like a VHS tape, in an effort to re-live the feeling of being with our loved one, or to understand and find ourselves in the midst of our devotion to another.

LA-based artist Bella Moore seems to know these concepts all too well. Today, Moore launches her 2nd single “Promised Land” via Rain Phoenix’s label, LaunchLeft. "Promised Land" considers the aforementioned feelings, and is released alongside a dreamy music video—which visually portrays the heavenly nostalgia and distant elusivity felt through the music itself.

Bella’s vocals do not stray far from the ethereal sound created in her first single, “Benny Valentine .” Her voice is soft, eerie, and dreamlike, and these attributes are enhanced by a nostalgic instrumental that builds throughout the track. The music video perfectly encapsulates the emotion and tone of this song, with clips from VHS tapes, muted colors, heavenly imagery, and a focus on artificial light in different forms. The lyrics are felt deeply even through the slight distortion of Bella’s voice as she lingers on each word, emphasizing their emotion and importance. The lyrics depict love and devotion accompanied by a touch of nostalgia and regret. With a focus on a distant promised land, listeners are left yearning alongside Bella for what it is she might be missing. As the lyrics state, “Carry me to the promised land / Cause I’m still lonely when you hold my hand”.

Bella, whose career began after she met a young boy who read her palm and told her to pursue music, clearly presents as influenced by love, memory, and its unavoidable accompaniment, nostalgia. After her future was revealed to her, she sang alongside fiancé, director and singer Ben Howley of the band Limo on their second album. Her own art and experimentation came shortly after. In her second single, Bella's unique sound is becoming her signature— teasing listeners on what's to come.

Photographed by Christina Bryson