Words By: Bre Offenberger

Austin Meade has released a music video for “Lying to Myself,” a track off his newly released album, Black Sheep, via Snakefarm Records. The track is basically a stab to the heart, detailing a relationship of continuing to work for what you want but knowing deep down there’s no way you’ll ever get there.

The track has flickers of country, with harsh strums of the guitar bouncing back forth between Meade’s subtle twang. Even if you don’t like country, though, there’s something to love within the meticulous guitars, insistent drums and Meade’s honeyed vocals that hold painstaking genuineness. Meade is fully aware his ex doesn’t want to see him or even remember he exists, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to conjure up ways to get her attention. The track ends with the reminder to himself that he knows it’s over, but he won’t ever stop because, just like with any goal, you work on it until you completely lose interest.

The video opens with a man outside a bar looking at a mural that says “be social” before popping his collar, walking like a fool into the bar and sitting down next to a woman who definitely doesn’t want to be seen with him. Meade is on stage, singing the story for the two at the bar, before the man orders a drink for the girl he hopes to take home. She steps on his foot and throws the alcohol in his face, and the guy, who seems already drunk, just laughs. He then walks over to a pair of girls playing skeeball and starts talking to one of them, who proves she’s not interested after he keeps talking by hitting him in the crotch with a skeeball. Suddenly, the man is wearing a clown suit and bowling and falls down while throwing the ball, causing a different pair of women to laugh. After deciding to leave, he walks into another venue and is invited to play guitar on stage with an entire band of clowns. While on stage, he makes eye contact with the female version of him, and they celebrate their crudeness together.

Of the video, Meade shares: “We’re all clowns at heart looking for a place to fit in. It’s fun to see the initial fall and eventual rise of the main character. I feel like I’ve been there before. Fitting all that storyline into just a few minutes was a challenge…there are a lot of hidden gems. You don’t have to take everything so seriously.”

Black Sheep already contains a heap of infectious singles with videos, including “Happier Alone,” which has eclipsed 5 million streams on Spotify. Meade has several tour dates coming up, and we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that the pandemic doesn’t cause them to be canceled — because Meade has already proven his performances are worth your time.