High Places Vs. Mankind
Album | High Places
Fulfills the promise of its predecessor, but changes the game.
Even in the midst of an era that has produced a bumper crop of great ambient-pop acts like A Sunny Day In Glasgow and Blind Man's Colour, the High Places' 2008 debut stood out from the pack with its breezy, sun-kissed sound. The follow-up fulfills the promise of its predecessor, but changes the game at the same time. The Brooklyn duo of singer Mary Pearson and everything-else-ist Rob Barber still sound like they're dangling from the underside of a cloud spraying Cool Whip into their mouths (that's a good thing), but they've also added a visceral element to their style this time around. "On a Hill in a Bed on a Road in a House" clatters like a bag of hammers dropping down a flight of steps, while "The Most Beautiful Name" throbs with a deep, dubby pulse. Most striking, though, are tracks like "The Longest Shadows" and "On Giving Up," which are downright danceable. Before you start getting on the goodfoot, though, be reminded that this still a High Places album, and so the main order of business remains Pearson's blissful, multi-tracked harmonies and Barber's luminous layers of guitars and electronics.
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