Rating: 8/11 
By: Nora E. Lindner 

The xylophone is an instrument often neglected by the sphere of contemporary rock music — and you know what, it’s a shame. Luckily, NYC’s self-proclaimed experimental pop band Hi Red Center are bringing back your favorite elementary-school-music-class staple in the song “Littlest Giant.”  

But that’s not the only thing about the band’s debut album Assemble (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2009) that will remind you of your carefree youth. The red-light-green-light orchestration of “Symmetry Chameleon” is just as charmingly juvenile. In fact, the entire album is very reminiscent of Karen O’s recent Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack. The lead singer himself intonates perfectly the sing-songy feel of a little boy, while the back-up vocals are sporadic bursts of energy, enthusiastic or meandering.  

That said, Hi Red Center seem to have some heavier hidden depths, the song “Trees in a Row” being the perfect example. One of their strongest and most innovative (which is saying something because all of the songs off Assemble rank high on the spectrum of innovation), it mixes the aforementioned kid’s wonderland with bursts of bold rock riffs. Needless to say, this band is looking at music with the wide-eyed wonder of youth and coming out with something refreshingly different.