4 out of 5

Label: Oglio (re-release, 2002)

Producer: Redd Kross?

Uhh so confused.  But this is the first album I’ve ever listened to – and re-listened to – and re-listened to – to understand the appeal and the impact of the band, but to confirm that… I don’t think they do anything for me.

So while Redd Kross’s first album was a mix of lazy and spasming punk, with surprisingly intense drum and guitar riffs popping up between more blase verse-chorus-verse, Neurotica was – is – supposedly, the first “grunge” album, marrying the bombast of rock with the snide of punk.  And I hear that.  I hear the wishy-washy 90s grunge sound that culminated in Nirvana before that group’s edge pushed it all into nu-metal.  I hear the laid-back Cali vibe married to blasts of teen enthusiasm.  And I must accept that I like where grunge ended up, but I’ve never been a big fan of where it started, the slacker vibe not cutting it for me and the lyrics – observationist humor, ya-ya-ya I just want my MTV – do nothing for me.

But I didn’t re-listen to convince myself.  I re-listened because this album is confusing as shit.  It ramps up out of nowhere, stepping through the ages of grunge to get to some really ripping tunes on the last few tracks, bringing back that energy that was present on album one.  And as it did on the previous album, the energy mayhaps overwhelms the intent, and I no longer care what they’re singing about, I just want to tap my foot and bop my head to the beat.  Power of music, man.  But then when I spin the disc again to see why I missed this feeling the first time around, we start back in la-la land.  The opening tracks are good and catchy, don’t get me wrong, and there’s more depth to them than my first listen would’ve given them credit – but see up above, it’s a laid-back feel that doesn’t appeal to me, and Jeff McDonald’s whiny vocals are, well, just that – whiny.  But the transformation the album goes through (and it’s ability to push me to go through it again) gives me the same confidence as album one to keep going through their catalogue, and I can see that this thing was a pretty big change-up in ’87, swirling through a history of rock and punk to deliver something that doesn’t seem to care if you’re listening, but without the attitude that punkers normally have.

So it’s not my bag, and I really don’t give shits about Beatles and Rolling Stones, so this ain’t a respect the rep comment, but though it ain’t my bag, I can absolutely acknowledge the quality.  The McDonald’s are covering a lot of creative ground with the roots of slackerism.  It was probably confusing at the time, too.