Synopsis

In "Altos Lugares," Rob Barber and Mary Pearson appear as pale, ghostlike figures wandering through a dry, deserted landscape. Their translucent forms drift across scrubland, rocky ground, and abandoned structures, creating the impression of spirits moving through a forgotten place. The sparse imagery, sun-blasted setting, and steady forward motion mirror the track's propulsive yet otherworldly electronic pulse. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the video builds an eerie visual mood around isolation, impermanence, and the uncanny relationship between human figures and the landscape.

Factoids & Trivia

• The title "Altos Lugares" translates as "High Places" in Spanish, making it a playful variation on the band's name.

• The video was filmed around Spahn Ranch in California, the former home of Charles Manson and his followers. The location gives the otherwise airy and dreamlike song a darker historical undertone.

• Rob Barber and Mary Pearson are presented with a transparency effect that makes them seem partly detached from the physical world. Contemporary coverage treated the ghostly appearance as a notable special-effects element rather than a conventional performance-video device.

• The video surfaced in September 2011, ahead of the October 11 release of High Places' third album, "Original Colors," on Thrill Jockey.

• "Altos Lugares" closes "Original Colors," an album recorded in the duo's Los Angeles home studios and shaped by rhythmic electronics, ambient textures, and Pearson's vocals.

• The video's three-minute-and-57-second running time suits its deliberately simple concept: repeated movement through the landscape gradually becomes hypnotic instead of leading to a traditional conclusion.

• Visual art was central to High Places' work beyond this clip. The duo also created video projections for live performances and made their own album artwork, treating music and imagery as parts of the same artistic practice.