Code Orange - The Above (2023) Hi-Res

It’s no coincidence that Code Orange’s fifth album is called The Above; as the follow-up to 2020’s Underneath, there’s a direct juxtaposition. “Where I feel Underneath and The Above coincide is like there’s almost this door between them,” vocalist and conceptual mastermind Jami Morgan tells. “It’s the door of moment and choice. To me, it’s the thin, reflective line between things and feelings that feel very far apart but are often very close, like the inverse, the question and the answer, darkness and light. A lot of The Above’s themes are different ideas of light—the light of self versus the light of acceptance and want.”

Musically, Morgan and his bandmates—guitarist/vocalist Reba Meyers, keyboardist/programmer Eric “Shade” Balderose, bassist Joe Goldman, guitarist Dominic Landolina and drummer Max Portnoy—gave priority to traditional rock instruments over electronics in this incarnation of their genre-defying style. “We wanted things to be a little bit more open and human but still have this digital backbone, whereas on Underneath, the digital element is to the front,” Morgan explains. “I feel like we also tightened up the songwriting and maybe painted within the lines a little bit more but challenged ourselves to be as avant-garde as possible within those lines.”