The Atlanta-based artists shares a track fit for quarantine
Atlanta’s favorite grandparent and genre-shrugging singer Grandma released a new single yesterday, complete with visuals. “Everybody’s On Their Phone” falls in line with the artist’s past releases, offering his signature synth wave R&B. The track features themes of loneliness and uncertainty—Grandma recounts his concerns over a new relationship put on hold by our tumultuous social climate and stay-at-home orders. While synthesizer plays over a beat like a slow pulse, Grandma laments in his signature sultry vocal style: “But now its all about the quiet nights / and I try to pretend that this is how it’s supposed to evolve.”
The video is a clever homage to youth internet culture, featuring the iPhone camera app and distortion filters—not to mention ironic green screen placement. And while the track is surely a sort of yearning for the relationships and social life that we all enjoyed before quarantine, the chorus offers some solace. Atop a water tower, Grandma sings “I sent you things I wouldn’t say but it’s all okay cause it sounds nice / Even when you’re stuck at home, all alone, it’s alright.” Grandma’s recent singles, along with the 2019 project Even If We Don’t Get Together, is the perfect sound to cut through the loneliness of social distancing.
Watch the video for “Everybody’s On Their Phone” below, and listen to the B-side track , “The Sensation” here.