Cincinnati Musician Mol Sullivan Debuts Music Video for 'Still Tryin''

We’re still over a month out from delighting in singer songwriter Mol Sullivan’s debut album. Until January 26, 2024 – when the indie star’s GOOSE premieres – she’s offered two singles for listeners to consider.

Sullivan likens her debut album to a “long exposure photograph,” a glimpse of which listeners have captured through the album’s first single “Eggshells.” And now in even more detail with the release of “Still Tryin.’”

GOOSE is a representation of different songwriting styles Sullivan adopted throughout the past 15 years. The songs reflect “radical changes” the artist experienced through sobriety and during a “decade-long affair” with alcohol. A press release announcing the album’s debut says the work “honors the person she had to be, to become who she is now.”

The latest single, “Still Tryin’” is accompanied by a poignant music video, which was  shared with CityBeat to introduce.

“The idea behind the ‘Still Tryin'’ video was to chronicle a day in my life at the time I wrote the song, during the dawning era of my sobriety from alcohol,” Sullivan says. “It's the first music video I've made thus far that is narrative-based and that doesn't rely on the support of campy themes and characters to deliver the punches. It's a vulnerable display of what it looked like when my life was a very one-day-at-a-time affair and when the power of music and community helped keep my chin above water.”

Sullivan strums through “Still Tryin,’” extending high-pitched vocal hums, moments of soft drums and wallowy, pointed expression. The video is filmed at Sullivan's house and other Cincinnati locations.

In the video she stops to eat at Frisch’s iconic Mainliner location on Wooster Pike, snacking on the hood of her car before having a seriously relatable crying session in the driver’s seat. The video follows Sullivan to The Lounge inside Liberty Exhibition Hall, where patrons (some will surely be recognized and are real-life friends of Sullivan) karaoke her song.

“In the video for ‘Still Tryin’ the themes of making peace with oneself after getting sober are given a cinematic expression,” Ryan Hall of Clandestine Label Services says of the video. “The video follows Sullivan through AA Meetings, struggling through mundanity of work and eventually being surrounded by intoxicated friends while trying to keep the night going while sipping on her diet coke (no ice). The video is anchored by Sullivan's emotionally resonant performance and a sense of relatability and authenticity for anyone who has struggled to get sober.”

CHECK OUT MOL SULLIVAN’S NEW MUSIC VIDEO FOR "STILL TRYIN'":

“Still Tryin’” was directed by Sullivan and edited by Joey Allen and Sullivan. Allen is the videographer and the production assistant is Olivia Meade. GOOSE debuts January 26, 2024.

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