I had hoped to be seen by you
Unbroken gaze like a sweet arrow
Could you ever feel my eyes on you
Bathing you in my desire
Desire has a way of making the body speak before the mind has decided what to say: flushed cheeks, an aching chest, the unreasonable hope that somebody might feel a glance from across the room. In the video for Sacred Hearts, Gloria de Oliveira takes those private sensations onto the streets of Hamburg’s St. Pauli district, where barroom lamps, photo-booth portraits, and the company of women give longing somewhere to live. The song’s burning heart finds a fitting companion in the red lights overhead, while affection passes between its subjects through looks, laughter, and the small pleasure of being together.
The Berlin-based German-Brazilian musician and visual artist shares the video for the third single from her forthcoming album The Lying Swans, due October 30, 2026, through La Double Vie and Cargo Records. Produced by Randall Dunn, whose work includes records with Anna von Hausswolff and Marissa Nadler, Sacred Hearts considers the exhilaration and anxiety of giving yourself over to another person, particularly when the body seems to have made that decision ahead of you.
The opening guitar figures carry an almost medieval character, joined by bright, percussive tones with the delicacy of a hammered dulcimer. Matt Chamberlain’s drumming briefly suggests the forward motion of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill before settling into the song’s own gait. Deep resonant strings lend the arrangement weight, while synthesizers soften its edges and extend its peculiar, old-world atmosphere. The tones and melody evoke a folk ballad like Nick Cave’s The Weeping Song, with the spaciousness of a Western just beyond the song’s antique ornamentation.
De Oliveira sings into that space with a delicate quiver that evokes Elizabeth Fraser, with a classical poise softened by the intimacy of her delivery. Lennard Zander’s acoustic, electric, and 12-string guitars trace fine melodic lines without disturbing the vocal’s tenderness; Arjan Miranda anchors the arrangement on bass, while de Oliveira, Dunn, and Úlfur Hansson add layers of synthesizer. The music leaves her exposed yet almost weightless, as if every declaration of love might tip her toward losing her footing.
The lyrics measure desire through its physical symptoms, moving from fever and sleeplessness toward the hope contained in a hand’s touch. To be seen becomes as urgent as to be loved, and the repeated attempts to contain that feeling only reveal its scale.
Yet, the song’s title draws on an image de Oliveira has carried since childhood, joining religious devotion to the unruly sensations of romantic attachment.
“The Catholic image of Christ’s Sacred Heart – a heart literally engulfed in flames – has struck me since childhood.”
“Of course it’s meant to symbolise God’s boundless and passionate love for mankind – however, as John Keats once wrote, ‘I am certain of nothing but of the holiness of the heart’s affections, and the truth of imagination’. And how does it feel to give yourself over to that affection and desire despite fear? With this song, I wanted to capture these seemingly contrasting sentiments.”
Shot and directed by award-winning Turkish filmmaker Seda Kaçak, and edited by de Oliveira, the video stars London actress Mona Najma alongside Eva Rogalla. Kaçak follows the women through St. Pauli in handheld close-ups, catching them sharing drinks, posing for photo-booth pictures, and moving between daylight streets and richly coloured interiors. Superimposed faces and starbursts around the lights give these ordinary pleasures an enchanted quality. Conceived as a homage to the bond between women, the film offers an affectionate counterpoint to the song’s solitary ache: companionship makes room for feelings that can otherwise become overwhelming.
Watch the video for Sacred Hearts below:
A classically trained singer whose acting work includes Babylon Berlin and Christian Petzold’s Undine, de Oliveira released music with the darkwave and synthpop duo lovespells before her 2020 debut album Fascination. Her 2022 collaboration with David Lynch’s longtime sound designer Dean Hurley, Oceans of Time, followed through Sacred Bones. Across those releases, she has explored dream pop, ethereal wave, ambient music, and the influence of her Brazilian roots, alongside work for theatre, film, and London Fashion Week.
Recorded in Iceland, New York, and Berlin, The Lying Swans extends those interests across nine songs concerned with trauma, perception, and the difficult return of trust. Its title invokes the myth of Leda, while its literary references include John Keats, Emily Brontë, Anne Sexton, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Within that broader examination of love and illusion, Sacred Hearts holds open the possibility of affection despite fear.
Listen to Sacred Hearts below or via streaming services, and pre-order The Lying Swans here. The album is out October 30, 2026, on digital, vinyl, CD, and cassette.
Upcoming live dates:
- October 30 — Berlin, Germany — Rough Trade Berlin
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