High Places January 7, 2011

High Places, formerly from Brooklyn, NY and now located in Los Angeles, CA, began as an experiment in collaboration. Robert Barber grew up listening to punk and hardcore, and Mary Pearson studied bassoon performance, but both gravitated toward a DIY compositional style and a love of layers. High Places' songs contain a range of aural layers: bells and bird calls over a wash of ocean waves; mallets hitting mixing bowls over treated guitar and glockenspiel; Mary's reflective vocals over Rob's homemade beats. The result is a spacious amalgamation of sounds with a unique, almost Caribbean undertone. 'High Places vs. Mankind' is their second LP. The new album marks the next step forward for High Places as they continue to evolve their sound and yet retain their trademark "tropical dub meets underwater chill vibe." Mary's vocals are brought to the fore and the songs pulse with even deeper dance grooves.