A liquor-loving millionaire meets his demise in Carrie Underwood’s “Church Bells,” a revenge anthem that finds its heroine, Jenny, slipping something poisonous into her beau’s whiskey after one too many fistfights. Like previous Underwood hits “Two Black Cadillacs” and “Before He Cheats,” the song packs enough detail into its 3:15 running time to fill a movie script. The video takes the opposite approach, though, focusing not on the song’s narrative, but on its narrator.
Directed by Wayne Isham, the video shines a light on Underwood’s Storyteller Tour, using live footage from a March show in Lincoln, Nebraska, to showcase a singer at the top of her game. There are costume changes, pyrotechnics, blasts of smoke and plenty of slow-motion shots of Underwood, who makes good use of her stage’s real estate. With the Storyteller Tour stretching until late November, “Church Bells” pulls double duty as a promo trailer for Underwood’s live show. It’s not just about the song; it’s about the show that surrounds it.
– Rolling Stone
