With the release of Black just a few weeks away, Dierks Bentley is pulling out all the stops. In what will be a four part video series, he and director Wes Edwards tell a very compelling story, taking us on a rollercoaster of a ride through this relationship and leaving us on the edge of our seats.
In the first video, for “I’ll Be The Moon,” featuring Maren Morris and written by Heather Morgan, Matt Dragstrem, and Ryan Hurd, we saw a love triangle between a woman, her live-in boyfriend and her lover. The sneaking around, secret phone calls and stolen moments are all played out on screen.
The second video is for “What The Hell Did I Say,” written by Ross Copperman, Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins. It’s lighter, focusing on the lover “drunk dialing” the woman repeatedly. His frustration over not being with her is too much for him to take, calling her over and over but with no response.
“What the hell did I say when I called last night / dripping loads of whiskey honey in that message that she liked / what the hell did I say /
gotta dial it up again / unblock out those lines that fell out drunk at 3 am / what the hell did I say / what the hell did I say”
“Pick Up” was written by Andrew Dorff, Jaren Johnston and Jimmy Robbins. This is the third video installment and is much darker. We see the woman and her boyfriend in the midst of a fight as he finds her cell phone and discovers her infidelity. As the fight ensues, the lover is desperately trying to reach her via phone and heads to her house. Once he arrives we are left with one hell of a cliff hanger.
“I just want hear your voice / cut through the line like a heart-shaped knife / cut me down baby one more time /
good or bad baby / yes, no, maybe / it’s driving me crazy / won’t you pick up the phone”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone Country, Bentley says, “When you’re in the throes of a relationship, it can be crazy and lustful, even obsessive and jealous. ‘Pick Up’ drops into the sequence at that point when you just have to be closer to your girl. For the storyline and plot of these videos, Wes [Edwards, director] definitely takes it there and puts a shocking spin on it.”
Bentley has explained the concept of the Black album as relationship album in that the tracks are arranged to mirror all the stages of a relationship. “It’s a romantic album, but it’s not all happy,” says Bentley. “It’s just about love. . . the edgier and darker sides of it, too.”
The final installment in the 4 part video series, for “Black,” the title track, debuts on May 13th.
Find out more about Dierks Bentley and his Black album on his website, twitter, Instagram.