Julia Pratt Tenderly Parses Past Trauma on “Chronos, Cruel Handler” + New EP “Family Feud” out May 10

Julia Pratt wrests from time’s ceaseless march a strained understanding of herself and her father on “Chronos, Cruel Handler.” With the new single comes the announcement that the Philly singer/songwriter will release another EP Family Feud on May 10th. If you missed her supporting Angie McMahon‘s tour you will get a second chance to see Pratt next month across the eastern U.S. opening for flipturn and Amos Lee — as well as during a hometown EP release show.

“Chronos, Cruel Handler” is a heart-wrenching folk ballad that casts a pained but tender eye backward toward Pratt’s childhood, honing in on the agonizing moments of violence that characterized a relationship with her father. One that confronts the undeserved cruelty of those actions while also poignantly addressing the external forces that molded it — seeing in them a cautionary tale of inherited cycles of trauma.

“Mirror of mine, now that I have you / We both had so much to prove,” her feathery vocals softly illuminate the inescapable, inherited resemblances between father and daughter. Following the urgent lilt of its galloping drums and acoustics, Pratt delivers wearied but earnest questions aimed at the failures of a parent. “Product of the past, don’t you know they lied to you?” she asks, reminiscing sadly a few lines later: “Foolish girl, hates herself but still loves you / Burn the world, festering sickroom.”

“‘Chronos’ is the personification of time, and that is exactly what this song represents. In some sense writing ‘Carolina’ felt like it killed a part of me, and ‘Chronos’ is what came after a period of reflecting on that death,” Pratt explained. “It arose from thinking about generational trauma and about my father. In this song I contrast our upbringings, and unpack the cycle that has repeated in both of our lives — the cycle that has most likely repeated over and over again in the lives of those that came before us as well.”

The music video for “Chronos, Cruel Handler,” directed by Samantha D’Alessio and edited by Keats, captures the song’s pained recollection of childhood in a suitably pastoral setting. It follows Pratt as she wanders mournfully in all black through a verdant forested hillside. Splicing haunting black-and-white flashbacks between ones that show her embracing an array of colorful dresses hanging from clotheslines. The resulting video is a moving visual accompaniment to the single and adds another piece to the short film that comprises Family Feud.

ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

BEST NEW MUSIC

Words: Steven Ward

Family Feud arrives on May 10th via RECORDS.

Visit Julia Pratt on her website, TikTok, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.

Watch the music video for “Chronos, Cruel Handler” the new single from Julia Pratt below!

Julia Pratt Tour
April 19 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club ^
May 7 – Bowling Green, KY – SkyPAC #
May 11 – Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry &
May 13 – Huntington, WV – Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center #
May 14 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium #
May 16 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater #
May 17 – Washington DC – Warner Theatre #
May 18 – New Brunswick, NJ – State Theatre New Jersey #
May 20 – Albany, NY – The Egg #
May 21 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway #
May 22 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount #
May 24 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse #
May 25 – Portland, ME – State Theatre #
June 21 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival

^ supporting flipturn
# supporting Amos Lee
& support by Shallow Alcove and Kennedy Shaw

Julia Pratt
Family Feud
RECORDS
May 10, 2024

01 Visions
02 Bull in a China Shop
03 Carolina
04 Chronos, Cruel Handler
05 Michael