To the backdrop of a heatwave storming the UK, I’m Just High and musician Pixey mark themselves immediately, succinctly and scarily well with a cutting guitar riff and bassline. Drums soon follow, and there is a real coming together, almost immediately, on this track from Pixey. Ahead of great lyrics must be a beat holding it together, and that is just what this new track from Pixey has to it. An understanding of just how important and delicate a mixture of great lyrics and funk-like riffs are to listeners, I’m Just High serves up a brilliant piece with plenty of meaning behind it.
What serves I’m Just High well is its mixing, its ability to create a bombastic effect without ever getting ahead of itself. Pixey’s lyrics still take prominence, but that catchy bassline is unavoidable. It cuts through with such impressive quality. An earworm waiting to happen. Thankfully not as parasitic as Squeeze’s Cool for Cats guitar riff, but that is a beast that will live rent-free in minds across the country. I’m Just High will do that too but in a good and rewarding way. It has the aesthetics and audible qualities of a feel-good track. But that deeper meaning makes it the gutting, double-edged sword musicians frequently clamour for. As great and unique an experience I’m Just High can be for its listeners, the lighter strokes and atmospheric decisions underlying the darker lyrics are a delicate, rewarding false impression. A great-sounding one too, a light crescendo just as satisfying as it is a technical masterstroke, an understanding of the indie pop genre nailed to three minutes.
With a bit of luck, I’m Just High will mark as a launch for those entertained by Pixey to dig a bit deeper into the backlog on hand. To discover new music is always a treat. Encountering great new music, that is an experience rarely replicable. I’m Just High has the light beats necessary to pinpoint those darker themes of lies and fantasies. They’re as cutting as they are sophisticated topics, blurring together thanks to a supremely strong mix. Layered lyrical witticisms take control of the verse, complaining and complimenting this spell Pixey sings of. It’ll no doubt be a spell listeners find themselves under. Fantastic lyrics pulled out of a topic that a bulk of listeners can relate to. A sharp rendition of blunted ideas, I’m Just High is a mark of fresh air. One of many from this year.
Indie music is receiving a supremely rewarding new wave of artists. Be that the monumental tidal wave of Wet Leg, the pattering anger of Yard Act, or here, the giddy pop brilliance of Merseyside music. But beyond that desire to craft great tracks like I’m Just High is an understanding of the new audience. The need for social media and its effectiveness of it as a tool for creation can be felt on I’m Just High, a track that’ll no doubt storm the usual routes of lighter social media moments if the right pace is provided. A solid fate for a track with such smart lyrics. A track of rejection and wasted pride, one that builds on the often-lamentable love and hate, but put together with supremely great vocal strengths.
