High Places

iTunes Review

New York duo High Places makes music that is intimate and quirky. Using digital tools to create loops, samples and treated sounds, Mary Pearson and Robert Barber also use handheld percussion instruments, banjos, bells and guitars in creating their delightful aural treats. Water is frequently evoked, from the ebb and flow feel of their music to slightly surreal sounds (dripping, trickling rhythms) in songs like “You In Forty Years.” Veering between a sort of tropical vibe (are those steel drums in “The Tree With the Lights In It”?) to a more tribal one, peppered with wooden percussion instruments and treated kalimba ping-ponging gently around Mary Pearson’s sing-song voice, this duo is as fearless and playful as preschoolers who find delight in simple things. Why not use mixing bowls and plastic bags — alongside shakers and a 12-string guitar — to make music? “Vision’s The First…” bubbles with a sensual, Middle Eastern and African-influenced energy, while “From Stardust to Sentience” rattles and shakes like a benevolent serpent, dancing against a nighttime sky. This home-recorded, full-length debut (High Places: 03/07- 09/07 is a collection of singles) is startlingly fluid and expressive; perfect evening music after a long day.