When Jamie xx released “Far Nearer” back in 2011, I spent all summer waiting for ‘steel-drum wave’ to take off. Unfortunately the steel drums never seemed to fully replace synthesizers and “Far Nearer” became the only (for the most part) electronic track to feature steel drums as a musical leading man. “Phone Sex (ft. Grimes)” by Blood Diamonds is singlehandedly bringing the steel drum back—and the other boys don’t know how to act. The track’s beachy, metallic pitter-patters and layers of lush synth textures are unique and fun; the sound is easily distinguishable from the loads of other synonymous artists putting out ‘electronic beach pop.’ Grimes makes a spot-on guest appearance, leading the song with abstract waves of ethereal falsettos. And just when the song starts becoming familiar-sounding, Blood Diamonds throw a curveball in the mix and move into one of the catchiest choruses of 2013, with Grimes leading the charge: “hey daddy, hey daddy, I’m okay, livin’ my love in a serious way.” Its sugary sweet instrumentation is wonderfully at odds with the philosophical musings of Grimes’s ‘talks with god’ and moon-bound sequestration, evoking a very British approach toward music (think “Girlfriend in a Coma” or “Spanish Bombs” in terms of emotion and sound). “Phone Sex” may or may not have to do with some sort of bizarre female Oedipus Complex, but the song is too catchy and its melody too overwhelming to even bother interpreting the lyrics. “Phone Sex” is already a modern pop classic.
-Ryan Ricks
THE ENDLESS BUMMER 