Formed in 2003, Hi Red Center are an endearingly odd and distorted version of a familiar instrumental quartet. Consider a drummer who swings effortlessly between lurching off-time rhythms and anthemic beats, a drummer/ vibraphone/electronic/synth player who adds everything from burbling noise to contagious melodies, a bassist who lays down the frenzied punch of post-punk with the melodic dexterity of krautrock, and a guitarist that creates a rich textural fuzz that makes it rock.

Hi Red Center released their debut album “Architectural Failures” on Pangaea Recordings back in 2006. The band's second album (and Joyful Noise debut) “Assemble” moves in more clear, concise direction while somehow containing instrumentation that, here and there, seems to slide of its track, breaking into weirdly juxtaposed parallel trajectories. They layer melody upon melody, and top it all off with vocal harmonies reminiscent of an asymmetrical barber-shop quartet. Their music is a dizzying mix of rhythmic smashes, noisy harmonies, and cultural innuendo that add up to graceful, sculp- ture-like songs. Hi Red Center makes music for folks who like to sing, for people who like to dance, and for everyone who likes their songs thoroughly mixed and mashed. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.