High Places

Rob Barber and May Pearson sound as if they grew up with Paul Simon's GRACELAND but then went away to art school and dropped a bunch of acid. HIGH PLACES is a notable debut for fusing the heady avant-pop instincts of contemporaries such as Panda Bear and Atlas Sound with a childlike playfulness, in addition to a clear emphasis on staying grounded in nature as both a musical guideline and a life philosophy. Minimal beats, analog loops, and oddball percussion collide with banjos, folk guitars, and Pearson's Kim Gordon-meets-Jenny-Lewis vocals for a record that is by turns catchy and coy, innocent and accomplished.