Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice just dropped “Panic Is the Norm,” and I’ve had it on repeat since yesterday afternoon. The piano hits first, all rolling and reckless, and I knew within ten seconds this wasn’t going to be a sit still kind of song.
Clayton Doley’s keys are the real story here. That Jerry Lee Lewis swagger comes through immediately, hammering and bending notes like he’s got somewhere better to be but wants to wreck the place before he leaves. Paired with the guitar work, the whole thing lands somewhere between a roadhouse and a revival tent, all sweat and volume.
What gets me is the story behind it. Candace Crockett co wrote this from her own experience as a widowed mom who doesn’t get the luxury of slowing down. That could have gone maudlin fast, but instead the song comes out swinging with humor. There’s a specific kind of tired that turns into a joke because the alternative is falling apart, and you can hear that in every line.
Nathan’s line about the song, “you don’t always get a break, you just get better at running,” sums it up better than I could. It’s not a song about winning. It’s a song about staying upright.
Sonically it pulls from late sixties and early seventies blues and southern rock, but it doesn’t feel like a costume. It feels lived in, like the band has actually been through the wringer they’re singing about. That’s the difference between nostalgia and honesty, and this one lands firmly on the honest side.