The release features a gripping performance from Reba Myers and includes an ambitious visual helmed by the collective NOWHERE2RUN.
Readying their highly-anticipated full length, The Above, set to land at the end of this month, Code Orange have again asserted their creative bandwidth with another brilliant preview with the single, “Mirror”. Showcasing the songwriting prowess of guitarist Reba Myers with a captivating vocal performance, the single harkens the 90’s era of trip hop, balancing Myers’ assertive harmony with a head-bobbing backbeat and layered instrumentation.
Sharply contrasting previous, pummeling servings from the album like “The Game”, “Grooming My Replacement” and the Billy Corgan-assisted “Take Shape”, the latest offering speaks to Code Orange’s ever-evolving sound and their commitment to exploring new creative frontiers, in all aspects of their craft.
Coupled with the arrival of the latest single from The Above, Code Orange have shared an engaging visual that utilizes live action, stop motion, claymation, and rotoscoping to further emphasize the thematic significance of the emotive track. With Myers in frame, the backdrop explores a vivid technicolor dream, starkly contrasting with Myers reality.
Sharing of the single, Myers said, “this song has a special place in my heart. To me, it’s the climax of this style of my writing in this band thus far. Take a look in the mirror, are you bored?”
The launch also marks the first complete endeavor for NOWHERE2RUN, the visual creative collective consisting of frontman Jami Morgan, keyboardist Eric “Shade” Balderose and cinematographer Eric Robbins – staying true to the band’s DIY roots.
Morgan weighed in on the importance of the single and it’s final presentation. “Mirror is NOWHERE2RUN’s first foray into full music video production from conception all the way to the final edit. It’s fitting that we took on a song that is dynamically disparate from anything CODE ORANGE has ever done. It’s a little softer, a little more lush, and led by a powerful performance from Reba. It’s another important piece of the puzzle that is The Above.”
As for the greater scope of the album, The Above, is the first full length studio project from Code Orange since their universally-praised 2020 LP, Underneath. The latest self-produced effort finds Jami Morgan and Eric “Shade” Balderose handling their own production duties, enlisting Steve Albini to helm the engineering.
Expanding on the band’s multi-faceted sound, The Above adds to Code Orange’s stylistic arsenal, implementing elements of metallic hardcore, grunge, trip and hip hop into a cohesive 14-track assault.
Morgan further detailed the vision of their next phase and how the album asserts a sense of nostalgia, while showcasing creative progression. “We wanted the album to be able to wash over you with melody, aggression, and joy, but it was of equal importance that the closer you look, the more you are rewarded. It was to feel rooted in the “analogue” world, but with threads of digital reality binding things together.
We wanted the sound and even the recording process itself to reflect that edict, so we enlisted Steve Albini at Electrical Audio to get the most real and raw version of the band possible, even recording us all at once in a room together for the first time in our career.”
Coinciding with the arrival of The Above, Code Orange recently announced their own, first-ever music festival, CODE’S WORLD. The curated festival will serve as their hometown album release show and will feature a supporting roster assembled by the band, including Madball, E-Town Concrete, Vein.FM, 200 Stab Wounds, Pain Of Truth and many more. Get more info and tickets – HERE
The Above from Code Orange drops September 29th via Blue Grape Music. Pre-order it – HERE
