In 2012, Redd Kross came on so hard with Researching the Blues that the California group obliterated the 15 years that had elapsed since its previous album, Show World, and equaled the rock and pop stratospheres it had reached with earlier records like 1987’s Neurotica.
In 2019, Beyond the Door powerfully begins with the Liverpudlian riffs of “The Party,” but the song shifts into off-kilter male vocal harmonies that seem to have leaked off a number by The Association. That’s a minor, initial indicator that Redd Kross is easing back in creative ways.
The main indicator is fraternal collaboration: guitarist Jeff McDonald’s distinctively Lennon-like vocals still front most of the songs, but his brother and bassist, Steven, contributes askew vocals and songwriting chops—for example, “There’s No One Like You” outdoes most of Weezer’s quirks and barely breathes hard doing so.
Meanwhile, the touring members, guitarist Jason Shapiro and Melvins drummer Dale Crover, prove their studio worth to Redd Kross, and Steven mixes the tracks to highlight them as much as he highlights himself and his sibling.
The best highlights are the songs, though, including “Punk II,” which resembles a Guided by Voices lark, albeit with much smoother production; “Fantástico Roberto,” chittering with staccato electric notes and riding a rhythm of increasing undertow; and the title track, passing for a rewrite of a classic Go-Go’s number crossed with a barrelhouse romp.
Beyond the Door ends with a blistering, lovely cover of “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way,’” originally by Sparks, another brothers-led Cali pop-rock band, and its tricky combo of spacious attitude and tight noisemaking makes it a nearly perfect bow on the gift of this album. Redd Kross is easing back, not taking it easy.
