Monday 3:31

A A A Comments (0) Tuesday, Mar 25 2008

[MUSIC]

BROOKLYN BASSOON

Hisham Bharoocha

Babes in the wood: High Places

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Two Brooklyn art-rock duos come to Manhattan

Brooklyn art-rockers High Places have yet to release a full-length album, but they're already among the most beloved bands in their borough. The duo's fragile, oddball instrumentation—bassoon, breathy vocals, laptop—belies a towering melodic savvy; at half the volume, the band puts its more strident peers to shame. Fellow Brooklynites Telepathe helped blaze the trail that High Places are currently skipping down: They were making minimalist electronics 'n' drums collages as far back as 2004. In combination, the two bands should be good for the gentlest aural assault this side of a cool breeze. With Hard Bop DJs, Health, and Invisible Conga People. At 7:30, the Knitting Factory Main Space, 74 Leonard Street, 212-219-3006, knittingfactory.com, $8 ZACH BARON

[MUSIC]

STONED DIGRESSIONS

Stephen Malkmus gets his wavy-gravy jam on

On Real Emotional Trash, the fourth solo-with-a-band album he's made since Pavement turned to dust, Stephen Malkmus spends more time satisfying his hankering for wavy-gravy guitar-god jams than he does indulging our desire for catchy indie-rock tunes. Sitting in your living room, you might find it's easy to miss the tunes, but from the Bowery's stage, the Trash material should take on the triptastic life it was designed to lead—especially with former Sleater-Kinney bash-and-crasher Janet Weiss behind the kit (and especially after you've had a few beers). Another plus: would-be hits from Malkmus's other solo-with-a-band discs (request "Jenny and the Ess-Dog," whose charms haven't faded a bit). Opener John Vanderslice, in addition to being a prolific producer, is one of indie rock's deepest thinkers: When he writes a song about war, you don't have to remind yourself to pay attention. At 8, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, ticketmaster.com, $25 MIKAEL WOOD