The L.A. by-way-of Brooklyn duo High Places – arranger and multi-instrumentalist Rob Barber and singer Mary Pearson – released their second LP, the moody High Places vs. Mankind, in March. The album surprised fans of their carefree 2008 self-titled debut in its overt melancholy – sonically, the music still featured electronic beats mixed with guitar riffs, trippy percussive rhythms, and Pearson’s fluid vocals, which shimmer and slither like spirits from the netherworld. But songs like the gypsy-vibed “The Longest Shadow,” the smoky “Giving It Up,” and the spooky, bassoon-soloing (Pearson has a degree in bassoon performance) “I Was Born” convey a sense of glazed-over resignation. It’s lovely stuff, in an eerie, haunting way – not so much dance music as it is daze music. With Soft Circle, Tiny Vipers. ERIN K. THOMPSON

Thu., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., 2010