Hi Red Center - Assemble

Quirky poppy rock a la Deerhoof or a more conventional Make a Rising: nice harmony vox, tight, off-kilter combo playing, some noisy interludes---quality stuff, they mix it up a lot within each track, like MaR, pretty well.

Best: 1, 4, 6, 8, 9

1: very Deerhoofy, w/ a loping bassline and vibe/guitar part that doesn't quite mesh with it in a really nice way. Stompy finish, spastic guitar.
2: Staccato guitar, sprightly vibes. Upbeat music, kind of goofy lyrics.
3: Fuzzy synth, kind of plain male vox. Nice contemplative midsection w/ wordless vox from many menmbers.
4: Disjoint riffs, sort of like a more tuneful U.S. Maple, poppier interludes.
5: Slow bass/vibes duet intro. Simplistic melody, kind of melancholy tune, the title ("lullaby") fits ok.
6: fast, dark, choppy, massed vox. Glitchy beginning. Very Make a Rising. Good vibes.
7: Vocal-led tune, but the vocal melody isn't very interesting and neither are the lyrics.
8: Starts off rocking, suddenly slows down, wobbles between these two modes.
9: Slow solo guitar into, then slow odd-meter chords accompanied by ever contemplative reeds (clarinet, bassoon), and towards the end bright trumpet. Ends with a brief reprise of the guitar riffing.