It’s almost a cliché to say that a band has created a “rock song” for the first time, but it’s a statement that reveals just how comfortable Code Pie have been creating whatever kind of music interests them. The chamber-pop of 2011’s Love Meets Rage was basically gone when Code Pie finally re-emerged in 2016 with Pop Cycle. That record showed the Montreal-based band relaxing their sound, while also proving they could be loud if they wanted to.
Enter London and its opening song, “High”, which finds Code Pie going full-throttle. The furious twittering of synths opening the song quickly gives way to loud, angular guitars and the swell of horns, the latter a sound that the band haven’t embraced in years. Code Pie make a point of taking their time to craft the music they’re comfortable with, so it’s thrilling to finally see them let loose. At the point where it sounds like the song can’t get any bigger, we get the soulful hook that goes “High up in the sky.” High up indeed.
