Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky. Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice did not get that memo.
Dropping a song about late night weakness on the most notoriously cursed date on the calendar is either a happy accident or a genius move, and honestly it does not matter which one it was because the song earns it either way.
What strikes you first about “Drunk Dial Baby” is how different it sounds from what this band usually does. The blues rock muscle is still there underneath it all, but this time they let the funk lead the way. That is not a small thing for a band built on heavier grooves. It takes confidence to pull back and let a bass line and a pocket rhythm do the talking, and Jerry Paswaters and Dylan Halacy are more than up to the task. The rhythm section on this track feels lived in, like they have been playing this song for years even though you are hearing it for the first time.
Bryce has always been the kind of guitar player who communicates more with restraint than flash, and that shows up here too. He builds the song slowly, almost like he is telling you the story before he lets you feel it.
The real angle though is this. Three years on the road as someone else’s support act will either sharpen a band or wear them down. This song sounds like it sharpened them. There is a looseness here that only comes from putting in the miles, and a confidence in the songwriting that suggests they have been saving something up.
You can listen below.