By the time
Redd Kross released their 2024
self-titled album, they had been a band off and on for over 40 years, cranking out music that was equal parts punk attitude, glam rock glittery, heavy metal hard, and hooky like
the Beatles. Guitarist/vocalist
Jeff McDonald and bassist/vocalist
Steven McDonald are rock & roll lifers to be sure, but not in any kind of way that suggests they are worn out or going through the motions. This album is as full of pulsating life, whip-crack energy, and intense devotion to craft as anything they've ever done, and it just might be the best record they've ever made. Whipped up during the emotional-rollercoaster days of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath of confusion and anger, the album is full of personal and political reckoning, with the brothers lashing out at the fakers and charlatans, turning their penetrating gaze inward, thinking about the past, and unleashing some of the most hardcore rock and shiny pop of their long career. With the help of longtime guitarist
Jason Shapiro and producer/drummer/Jack-of-many-trades
Josh Klinghoffer, the brothers aim for an unvarnished sound that's paint-peelingly live on rockers like "Candy Coated Catastrophe" or "Terrible Band," chiming and sweet on the poppier numbers ("I'll Take Your Word for It," "The Shaman's Disappearing Robe") and tough and tender at the same time on big ballads like "The Main Attraction" and "Born Innocent" that show off a more sensitive side than many might expect. Some of that shift is due to
Steven's flowering as a songwriter and singer. His songs are introspective and unflinching, whether he's detailing toxic relationships, his own foibles "(Stuff"), or the realities of life, and his voice is stripped of artifice and plainspoken. When he and
Jeff duet on the truly heartwarming song "The Main Attraction," it's almost painful in its beauty. Balancing those kinds of moments are the songs that sound angry enough to tear their targets into little pieces. It's easily the angriest record the duo have made; they sound frustrated and sickened by aspects of the age they are living through, and the unvarnished bile crashes out of the speakers like a flurry of punches. The balance between tender emotions and blisteringly raw feelings, ripping punk energy and chiming pop melodies, songs that are fun and those that are almost violent, makes for a very rich and enthralling listen, maybe the most varied and invigorating one yet. That's saying a lot considering all the career highlights that the band have delivered so far, but
Redd Kross is just that good. This is rock music at its most exciting and meaningful from a band who's doing their level best to keep the form alive and thriving. ~ Tim Sendra
