Back in the old days I was a huge Red Cross fan. I quite enjoyed the Posh Boy e.p. and it  was hard to tell exactly how they would evolve but they were fun and the song hooks were  infectious. I was in a band called Los Cremators in the early 80’s. We were completely  bored Mexican teens living at our parent’s lower middle class tract homes in boring Santa  Maria, California. We drank a lot of whisky, tequila and beer. We smoked an inhuman  amount of weed and hashish. And when we could get it, we liked to take LSD or magic  mushrooms. But we mostly scored tabs of the ol’ lysergic and loved dropping acid. So  when Red Cross started transitioning into Redd Kross and grew their hair out and really  started embracing their 60’s and 70’s influences as well as cult films and… LSD, we were  all in with them. We listened to the Born Innocent record over and over again and saw them  play and we thought they were godlike.  

In the tradition of the environment they grew up in, hanging out with bands like Black Flag  and being punk rock by not following punk rock trends and following their instincts instead,  they went on to stop using drugs and began working on perfecting a perfect pop sound.  Continuing to evolve laser focused on this goal they would release the absolutely fantastic Neurotica. The major label contender Third Eye came next and saw them losing much of  their rock attack to let the influence of pop acts like The Partridge Family and late 70’s era  Elton John come to the front. They added a keyboard player and for a while seemed  content to keep the bubblegum ahead of the occasional rave-up.  

They took some time off and reappeared in 2012 with the Neurotica line-up of Jeff and  Steve McDonald, Robert Hecker and Roy McDonald (no relation) reunited. Now with this  line-up, people were expecting a return to form and really could not see them NOT rocking  out. The new record, Researching The Blues, definitely boasted a generally harder sound  than the previous couple of records. And while lead guitarist Hecker did indeed clean up  his guitar tone the record satisfied those who desired the rockin’ RK as opposed to the  bubblegum band. But it wasn’t really about whether or not the songs were played loud.  The songwriting here was ace with killer riffs and ATTITUDE and that is what allowed this  combination of players to do what they do and deliver beyond expectations. They followed  this with Beyond The Door in 2019 with a new line-up. 

Red Kross’ self-titled new release follows this course. The lead track, Candy Colored  Catastrophe, starts with an acoustic guitar and pop vocals but as the band kicks in the  guitars are loud, the bass is deep and the drums are heavy. The production is much heavier  than the previous records. 

The Main Attraction does take us back to the “pretty” side of the band’s pop sensibility with  harmony vocals dripping with treacle. And there are songs that start out with a softer  sound and build into a heavier attack as it progresses while others maintain a steady  trajectory one way or the other. In this way the song Terrible Band is like a perfect power  pop song. Spaced out harmonies with hard hitting drums and guitars that are like glistening  spider webs.

This record, like Researching The Blues, works well as a logical evolution from Neurotica.  It’s like the McDonald Brothers are now giving to us both ways. A Redd Kross that rocks  without losing their connection to The Partridge Family. And that brings us to the subject of  missing longtime member Robert Hecker. While his lack of presence is noticed the band  carries on fine without him while he is pursuing his own band It’s OK and other interests.  His whacked-out image with the bare feet and guitar up high like he’s playing a violin was  distinctive and his loopy song contributions were endearing. But it appears that this is  another reboot and an all-new Redd Kross. I am digging it. Longtime fans will enjoy the  easter egg bassline. And the album closer, Born Innocent, is astonishing.