This Is Our Jam: Blood Diamonds, “Grins”

Since abandoning the Balearic leanings of last year's excellent Heart, Vancouver producer Blood Diamonds’ hazy pop has tended to glance sidelong at dance music without fully engaging with it. Tracks like “Lasting Love” were built for tuckered-out partiers who had abandoned the dance floor to chill out on a nearby couch. While “Grins” maintains a lot of what made "Lasting Love" so arresting—shadowy vocals, technically complex percussion, grainy ambiance—it comes packed with quite a bit more oomf. "Grins" is a rave-y collage whose lazer synths slice through rain-stick white noise. While the lyrics may be no more than a platitude (“No one lives forever”), arranged here, they serve as a mantra for a party at peak intensity. This may sound weird, but "Grins" may be Blood Diamonds' first banger. (Altered Zones)