Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice released “Drunk Dial Baby” on Friday, February 13th, and it’s the song that’s going to hit different at 2 AM when your phone buzzes.
We all know this story. The late night text arrives. “You up?” Three letters that mean everything and nothing at the same time. Bryce and his band take that exact moment and turn it into a blues funk groove that somehow finds humor in the heartbreak. It’s a smart move because the alternative would have been wallowing, and these guys clearly don’t wallow.
“She only calls me after a couple shots of whiskey” is the line that opens it all up, and from there Bryce paints the whole picture. The moonshine mouth. The lipstick. That dopamine hit when her name shows up on your screen even though you know exactly where this goes. The song moves with real funk in it, which is a shift from the heavier stomp that Loaded Dice usually bring. Jerry Paswaters’ bass locks everything down tight while Dylan Halacy’s drums sit perfectly in the pocket. Bryce’s guitar work rides the verses and then absolutely explodes in the chorus like he’s been saving it up.
What keeps “Drunk Dial Baby” from being just another blues song about a woman is the self-awareness running through every lyric. Bryce knows the score. “I’ll pick up that phone. Every. Damn. Time.” That line right there says everything about what this song is actually about. It’s not about her. It’s about him knowing better and doing it anyway. That’s where the real sting is.
The Kansas City trio spent three years on the road backing Taj Farrant across the U.S. and internationally. Now they’re stepping out with their own material, and “Drunk Dial Baby” proves they’ve got plenty to say. It’s out now on all streaming platforms.
You can listen to “Drunk Dial Baby” by Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice here.
