The Point of No Return? Chapter 1
With four consecutive #1 radio singles, Texas native Parker McCollum has been on the rise in mainstream country music since 2015. After dropping his debut album, The Limestone Kid, he became a staple in the Texas country music scene, with a unique sound you couldn’t find anywhere else. Being a young, heartbroken man, he immediately attracted an audience of gold chain-wearing college kids who couldn’t shake their “Young Man’s Blues.” With such a strong fanbase, it has been surprising to see Parker completely abandon the sound that won over his following in the first place.
Since The Limestone Kid, McCollum has managed to maintain themes of sadness, regret, and heartbreak throughout his lyrics. As many songs as Thomas Rhett writes about his son, Parker keeps it consistent with sad songs about being “Misunderstood” and too far gone. Through the years, being a fan of Parker’s has been fun, although it felt slightly different in 2015 than today.
In his early career, Parker McCollum played little bars and clubs in Texas, getting himself involved in the red dirt scene, which helped his audience tremendously. Something that drew people to him was that he did everything independently, although this only lasted until 2019, when he signed a major label deal and released “Pretty Heart.” This was a stark turn for his sound. The entire production of this song felt comparatively over-polished stacked against the style he had been perfecting for the four years prior. He then released this song on his EP Hollywood Gold and Gold Chain Cowboy album. After separate releases of this song in 2019, 2020, and 2021, fans were left to believe, “Yeah, it’s just the rest of my life.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, McCollum found new fans around the country. With his label helping him get radio play, “Pretty Heart” became a mainstream success, convincing Parker to move to Nashville, TN. Being the small-town Texas native he is, factions of his Texas fanbase were pretty upset, arguing that he was a “sellout,” losing every quality that made him great.
McCollum’s subsequent few releases gave Texas fans little hope. Although many enjoyed his EP Hollywood Gold, it received mixed reviews and didn’t show many elements of the Parker McCollum that were so loved and missed. After his album Gold Chain Cowboy was released, it was clear to his early fans that they’d probably never see the “real” Parker again. Many didn’t pay much mind to his 2021 record, Never Enough. Although drastically different in sound from his early catalog, each of his releases has held great storytelling, but unfortunately, many of his first fans haven’t remained interested.
The main differences between his newer and old styles mostly revolve around the instrumentation, vocal style, and overall production. His first releases had shuffling drum patterns and twangy guitar licks and bends. He would yell his vocals, and the imperfections in his delivery were some of the most compelling aspects of his songs. It was easy to imagine a guy with that raw voice going through the sadder moments in his writing. Meanwhile, Parker’s new production showcases a much cleaner voice with fewer flaws. Everything is mixed to perfection, which is alright, but the sound is unrecognizable compared to his old music. Hearing an old heater like “Lucy” right after one of his new songs like “Burn It Down” would be a whirlwind of a difference for a new listener. It’s easy to say these massive changes are diluting his artistry, yet they seem to have largely boosted his reach.
In a recent interview with Bobby Bones, Parker explains, “I only moved to Nashville when COVID happened, and pretty heart was, you know, I had my first number one double-platinum song and didn’t play a show the entire time… And I got a little that, you know, maybe everything I worked for was going to be gone when the world turned back on, so I was like, ‘Man, I better go up there and just, you know, hustle it up a little bit just to, you know, make sure they don’t forget about us,’ and luckily they did not.” Since then, McCollum has made the move back to Texas. He tells Bobby, “It’s the greatest thing I ever did, my man.”
While his music has always been high quality in one way or another, it was the most interesting when he was at home in the great state of Texas. There is speculation that his move could have an effect on the future of his music career. On September 13th, he released a new single titled “What Kinda Man,” which may resemble The Limestone Kid more than anything fans have heard from Parker in a long time. It features a harmonica solo, a swinging drum groove, and a reminiscent melody unique to McCollum. While the song carries some of the qualities of his earlier style, it’s still too soon to confidently say that we will see the homecoming of “The Limestone Kid.” However, “Things are looking up.” Let’s talk about the pros and cons of the current state of his music:
Pros:
- Every song manages to remain clever and expertly written. One example is in “Handle On You,” with phrases like “I told myself that I should quit, but I don’t listen to drunks.” You can’t knock on his lyrics.
- With Parker’s audience being larger, he has a bigger platform to show his work. His mainstream success has also expanded the horizons for many fellow Texas-based country artists by showing that you don’t have to keep things between the state lines.
- With a larger reach, McCollum’s fans will have a better chance at seeing a show. His “Burn It Down” tour is passing through cities all over the United States (Unfortunately for the writer of this article, Nashville isn’t one of them).
Cons:
- Chasing radio play leaves Parker sort of stuck with this new polished sound. If he returned to his old rough and rowdy style, his chances at mainstream country radio would be slim. It’s well known that broadcasters prefer a perfectly tuned track for radio.
- Fans of McCollum are now more interested in his big singles than his entire albums. For example, there isn’t a single song on The Limestone Kid with under 1 million Spotify streams; in fact, each song has hit two million+ Spotify streams without a label’s help. One of the better songs off of Never Enough, “Too Tight This Time,” still hasn’t hit 1 million Spotify streams, and many others off that record still haven’t reached two million, even with professional promotion. While his monthly listeners have grown with help from national radio and his record label, his fans are less focused on his complete works than they were initially.
With talks of a new album being on the way, songs like “What Kinda Man” give the earlier Parker McCollum fans a good feeling about what could be coming next. While the productions stay up to the standards of modern mainstream country music, he is seemingly leaning back toward certain stylistic aspects of The Limestone Kid and even a little bit of Probably Wrong. There is plenty of potential, especially after his move back to Texas, for Parker’s next album to showcase his old style with a better production style. It’s too soon to say for sure, but based on the overall quality of his full catalog and the familiar aspects of “What Kinda Man,” there will most likely be plenty for new and old fans to appreciate his upcoming record. Fans should keep their minds and ears open for whatever comes next in the evolving sound of Parker McCollum.
