If you’ve been keeping up with BEL, you're most likely familiar with her amazing storytelling. Something I like to describe as eerily relatable, her songwriting makes it so that it is practically impossible to skim over her songs without feeling overly invested and understood. This is especially the case with her most recent single, “Paul BigDawg.”

Prior to its release, she shared various reels, priming her listeners for the new track. In a clip overlooking a warm sun peaking over an oceanic horizon, she shared the chorus, “Take it easy. It should be easy,” accompanied by a message: “a song written to self-soothe when I was being really hard on myself trying to rush through the healing process.”

Written collaboratively with Boyish, she sings of the small ounces of love left for somebody who’s no longer in your life. Soft, honest, and understanding, “Paul BigDawg” perfectly balances the conflicting emotions one is subjected to in such moments of reflection. Stuck between residual empathy and kindness she starts off singing, “I don’t hate you, but I miss you even if you don’t” and later twists the knife even deeper as she continues, “I don’t trust you like I used to maybe we could be friends / I don’t hate you I just want you, more than you ever did.” At odds with her emotions towards this person and uncertain of their personal standings vis-a-vis each other, she is left in this weird – but relatable – limbo between empathy and confusion. However, true to the soothing nature of the song, she softens each blow by reciting the main refrain. A gentle reminder to be kind and patient with herself, something we could all use every once in a while.

In between releases, BEL has plunged herself back into gigs. And with every song she releases, it is becoming harder and harder to stay away from her shows. Now four singles into her EP’s rollout, it is quite clear that whatever the finished product ends up being, I, along with any lucky listener, will be beyond satisfied. Who knows, maybe the next time I sit down to write about her music the project will already be in our hands. But in the meantime, you should  stream “Paul BigDawg” and all her previous singles.

‍