High Places are the duo of vocalist Mary Pearson and multi-instrumentalist Rob Barber, who put out an amazing self-titled debut last year, which ended up on my year-end list, full of experimental, divergent styles set to homemade, syncopated, bass-heavy beats produced on a laptop. Pearson’s vocals are softly spoken over a layered, minimal Caribbean backdrop, creating a sound that’s more organic than most electronic music.

Last week, on October 30th, they released they new single, “I Was Born,” which also includes their first-ever video treatment. From the looks of it, they should direct videos of more often, as these black-and-white visuals add even more depth to their aural landscape. Super eerie, super cool.

I was sorta wondering where High Places would go next, and from the sound of their new single (and their move from Brooklyn to LA), they’ve departed for heavy distortion and, get this, bassoon (Pearson’s principle instrument).

Check out the video after the jump.

Watch “I Was Born” at Thrill Jockey’s site.

From the press release: On the horizon, the band plans to release a second single and video combination (good news!) before collecting both new tracks on a 12″ that will also feature remix versions of both singles.  A new full-length set for release in the spring and a tour in support of the album are also in the works.