When Disclosure first emerged in 2013 with their dynamic first album Settle, they lead with two linked yet different sounds and aesthetics. The most prominent was displayed with Sam Smith lead single “Latch,” which showed Disclosure’s ability to fuse 90’s house with smooth, modern, and melodic pop r&b. However, the second sonic energy of the brothers’ sound was displayed in the track “When A Fire Starts To Burn.” The song was an abrasive and fast-paced UK garage and house song that made you want to dance, mosh, and be reckless. There hasn’t been a release quite like that from Disclosure since, until now. The second single from their third album ENERGY, “My High” featuring Aminé and Slowthai takes you right back to that raucous vibe from the early days adding an element rap filled with rampage.
The single is accompanied by a video, shot pre-quarantine in Mexico City and Los Angeles, by French filmmaker Simon Cahn (Danny Brown, Denai Moore). The storyline is simple: an injured man on a stretcher is abducted from a hospital and pushed around by Aminé, Slowthai, and others through the city to a skatepark, a family dinner, a parking lot, a grocery store, and even eventually a house party. The absurdity of the visual co-aligns perfectly with the intensity of the song. Disclosure goes back to their roots in the UK garage at a perfect time. The mood of the song matches the craving we all have to break out of the quarantined existence we have been in, and let loose on a wild adventure with no foreseeable destination.
Aminé and Slowthai each contribute a sort of braggadocio middle finger up energy in their lyrics and delivery that truly brings the song together. Aminé at the end of his verse raps, after calling an ex and her new lover corny, “Think I’m wrong, maybe it’s them drugs. Sike, it’s you and we singing to the club.” He is energized in being dismissive yet directly insulting with his former lover that leads into the abrasive lyrics of the hook, “don’t fuck up my high, my high, my high.” Aminé’s potency ultimately drives the song all the way into the second verse. Then Slowthai, keeps the mayhem moving with his first bar right out of the hook where he raps, “Are you mad? Must be out of your mind. You look so sad, have a spliff, get high.” This vigor stays at a 10 to the song’s finish and provides the perfect punch of escapism. With ENERGY, we can only hope Disclosure gives even more of this driving fortitude. It’s the energy we’ve missed from them and the spirit of the light at the end of the tunnel we hope to reach and explode out of eventually.
