co-mastered, co-mixed, and played instruments on the track. Rolling Stones Kory Grow described its genre as dance-pop and noted the "reedy synths" in the production. In order to achieve the sound heard in "Head Up High", Oh Land used "sound samples from [her] everyday life" and "mixed [them] with string quartet recordings" that were created at her Copenhagen residence. Jason Lipshutz, a writer for Billboard, commented that this effect helped make "an altogether spellbinding effort". Michael Cragg from The Guardian described it as "effortlessly featherlight, symphonic pop with a warm heart". After learning that a close friend of hers was dealing with issues in her romantic life, Oh Land took it upon herself to write a song that had the power to liberate the friend. However, she forgot about the track until that friend reminded the singer of it nearly an entire year later. Oh Land completed recording the song and decided to include it on Earth Sick. Acknowledging the clichés in the pre-chorus, Michael Cragg remarked that they "somehow sound enriching". The lyrics feature encouraging and helpful mantras: "No heavy rain's going to hold me down any more". The chorus consists of the phrase "high up" sung repeatedly. Critical reception General feedback from music critics suggested that "Head Up High" was one of the best tracks on Earth Sick. Billboards Jason Lipshutz wrote that it was one of two highlights, with the other being "Favor Friends", on the parent album. Kai Hermann, a writer for Nothing but Hope and Passion, found the song to be one of the "very interesting pieces" and "biggest highlights" on Earth Sick. Robin Murray from Clash was pleased with the "euphoric [and] enormously uplifting release" and found that the singer was "pouring her heart and soul into each note"; commenting on the Mercury remix of "Head Up High", she stated it was "packed with colour" and called it an "enormously energetic piece of music aimed straight at the dancefloor". Music video and promotion The accompanying music video for "Head Up High" was released onto Oh Land's Vevo account on 20 October 2014. It was directed by frequent collaborator Duncan Winecoff and produced by Oh Land, Winecoff, Stuart Winecoff, Emi Stewart, and Sam Campodonico-Ludwig. The video starts with Oh Land walking down a sidewalk at night. She then enters a small, darkened studio where she is shown dancing and singing. The following scenes display the