It began as an experiment in collaboration: two people with diverse artistic backgrounds coming together to merge their skills, aesthetic tastes, and music-making approaches. Robert L. 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. It is the affinity for layering that has thus far defined the duo, both in ideas and instrumentation. High Places’ songs contain a fascinating 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 an imaginative and spacious amalgamation of sounds with a unique, almost Caribbean undertone that is as immediate as it is refreshing.
Since their inception in 2006 in Brooklyn, High Places have honed their "exquisite corpse" style of songwriting, exchanging ideas back and forth, challenging one another's expectations, pushing both performance and songs to new places, or more aptly, new heights. With each single, from “Head Spins” to “Sandy Feat” from “Greeting the Light” to “Granola” the band has revealed more complex elements within their layers be it in vocal texture, delicate melodic sense, or in new dimensions to their ever inventive and propulsive percussion.
Their album "Original Colors" was released in 2011.
UNIVERSE
High Places Lyrics
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I can't sleep, I cannot sleep
Cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical thoughts
Can't seem to shut them off
(Cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical)
I have tried to find a Universal Truth
I'm a pinprick on a pinprick on a pinprick of Time and Space
It takes a lot of guts to be a little baby in this place
If I could travel faster than the Speed of Light
I'd outrun life's brevity
I'd fly or float or run or jump to some new planet, some new galaxy
Psychical, psychical, psychical, psychical, thoughts
Can't seem to shut them off
I have tried to find a Universal Truth
But the Truth is: I'm much less than insignificant
I'm a pinprick on a pinprick on a pinprick of Time and Space
It takes a lot of guts to be a little baby in this place
The lyrics to High Places' song "Universe" speak to the overwhelming feeling of insignificance that can come with contemplating the vastness of the universe. The singer describes their thoughts as "cyclical," unable to break out of the repetitive pattern of contemplating their own smallness in the grand scheme of things. They express a desire to find a "Universal Truth," but realize that this truth only serves to reinforce their own insignificance. They describe themselves as a "pinprick on a pinprick on a pinprick of Time and Space," a tiny speck in the vastness of the cosmos. Despite the feelings of overwhelm and hopelessness this can bring, the singer acknowledges the courage it takes to exist as a small being in such a vast universe.
Overall, the lyrics capture the tension between the desire to understand and find meaning in the universe, and the overwhelming realization of how small and inconsequential one individual life can seem in the face of such vastness. It speaks to the human tendency to search for significance and understanding, even when faced with the vastness of the unknown.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been going on more than a week now
This state of distress has persisted for more than seven days.
I can't sleep, I cannot sleep
The singer is unable to achieve a state of restful slumber.
Cyclical, cyclical, cyclical, cyclical thoughts
Repetitive, recurring, circular thoughts dominate the singer's mind.
Can't seem to shut them off
The artist is powerless to stop the constant influx of thoughts.
I have tried to find a Universal Truth
The artist has attempted to discover a fundamental and all-encompassing principle.
But the Truth is: I'm much less than insignificant
The singer realizes that their existence holds little significance in the grander scheme of the universe.
I'm a pinprick on a pinprick on a pinprick of Time and Space
The singer feels incredibly small and insignificant in the vast expanse of time and space.
It takes a lot of guts to be a little baby in this place
Despite feeling small and insignificant, it takes a great deal of courage to continue existing in the face of the universe's immensity.
If I could travel faster than the Speed of Light
The artist is contemplating the hypothetical ability to exceed the maximum speed at which anything can travel.
I'd outrun life's brevity
The artist would attempt to evade the all-encompassing and inescapable existence of death.
I'd fly or float or run or jump to some new planet, some new galaxy
The singer would seek to find a new location in the vastness of space to escape their current predicament.
Psychical, psychical, psychical, psychical thoughts
The artist is experiencing a flood of mental activity that they cannot control.
Contributed by Micah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.