HI RED CENTER – Assemble

There’s a fine line between noise rock and ugly chaos. On one side of the spectrum you have music that is a fascinating experiment — bold and challenging, yet rewarding. On the other side you have something that sounds like the first band you formed in seventh grade — sloppy, noisy, and egotistical.

Sadly, Hi Red Center’s Assemble falls into the latter category. The press release for this album informs me that the band wants to “make music that you will love.” I have to disagree. This album reeks of pretension. Each song plays as if the musicians are convinced they have tapped into something you would never understand. Each instrument and vocal track acts against the other, fighting to figure out which should actually take over the song. Instead of playing with this and building towards something interesting, each song clangs and clamors along without the slightest attention to what makes music interesting and enjoyable. There are even times, such as the track “Nowheresville,” where the music seems built simply to annoy.

This is not to say the entire album is a waste, however. There are glimpses here and there of interesting music. “Trees in a Row” and “Los Olvidados” both contain segments that had me hoping for better things – sadly, these two tracks come near the end of the album.

I understand the desire to make interesting and complicated music, and I will always support those that will reach outside of what is normal to try to achieve something better. But when those chances are taken, they will often fail — and the musicians can either admit that and rework things, or ignore it and remain set in the sound they are producing. Hi Red Center’s Assemble is an album in love with itself; I only wish I could like it half as much.

(Joyful Noise Recordings, PO Box 20109, Indianapolis, IN 46220)