Link copied
Texas singer-songwriter Parker McCollum has unveiled the new music video for his hit single, ‘Handle On You’.
McCollum made the whiskey-drenched track available back in August 2022 as the lead single for his upcoming album, which he's confirmed will be released on May 12.
‘Handle On You’ finds McCollum leaning into the forlorn, heartbroken territory that helped to propel him into the mainstream.
It's a vein that also runs through previous earworms such as ‘Pretty Heart’, ‘To Be Loved By You’ and his latest single, ‘Stoned’.
The ‘Handle On You’ lyrics pay tribute to the liquid courage that he's been relying on to help him get through a recent break-up (“I went and bought the biggest bottle they got 'cause you're gone / Drop the needle on a vinyl and cry to an old Haggard song”).
The track embodies McCollum's sweet-spot between embracing a slick, radio-friendly sound while still staying true to the traditional, Texas country that he grew up on.
Epitomising this is the single's witty reference to a classic Merle Haggard track (“Since you poured our love down the sink / I think I'll just stay here and drink”).
The new video, directed by Jim Wright, captures the laid-back, charismatic persona that McCollum has always portrayed through his music and live shows.
However, the vulnerable, despairing nature of the song cleverly makes McCollum's cool exterior appear to just be a superficial cover for the hurt that the video's protagonist is feeling deep down.
The visuals incorporate various scenic shots of Parker McCollum spending time back in his home-state of Texas, along with a series of clips and snippets of him performing live.
Speaking about the new video, McCollum explained the impetus that drove its creation, “Shot half of the video at a sold out show in my hometown - 20,000 people at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.
Shot the other half at our Family Ranch in East Texas. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to get to come home and showcase, on-camera, the place I love the most while doing what I love to do the most”.
He went on to underline how ‘Handle On You’ has quickly become one of his favourite tracks to date, “I love this song and wrote it with my buddy Monty Criswell and I feel like we really kind of went in a different direction with it from my other songs.
Putting this thing on film and giving the viewers a look into my life at home and on the road was an important visual for me to have go along with the track”.
Towards the end of the cinematic music video, Parker McCollum's wife, Hallie Ray Light, makes an appearance and reminds viewers that the Texan's personal life is a far cry from to the run-down, heartbroken figure he often cuts in his songs.
Parker McCollum is currently gearing up to release the next single from his upcoming album.
The ‘Young Man's Blues’ hitmaker recently announced that fans would receive this latest sample of the new project on February 17, but he's yet to reveal the song-title.
Some suspect the new release could be one of Parker McCollum's most popular unreleased songs, ‘Lessons From An Old Man’, which the crooner teased shortly before Christmas.
For more on Parker McCollum, see below:
