3 out of 5

Label: This Way Up

Producer: Redd Kross

So Redd Kross started out as snotty California punk on their debut album, a record that was notable for its mix of slacker mentality and yet playful energy that caused creativity to pop up in spurts.  An album of pretty excellent covers showed their talents being shaped before they delivered the proto-grunge nigh-masterpiece of Neurotica, which took just enough hints from their sloppy origins and combined it with their developed rock chops to come up with a subtly effective swill.  The lyrics have never been all that, but whether playful or sneering, they matched the shruggy vibe of the music.  …And then, I dunno, the band seemed to be purposefully stalling getting on the bus for so long that it eventually just left, so when Third Eye hit, the cover showing the group decked out in hippie shit, bubblegum pop the flavor du jour, the band-without-a-scene suddenly felt like they’d lost on of their key ingredients as well – spirit.  You could say that ‘Phaseshifter’ is a return to form of sorts, as it jumps back into rock n’ roll, but opening track ‘Jimmy’s Fantasy’ sort of plays by the grunge rulebook… which they HELPED to write, but only the introduction.  Perhaps this would’ve been the evolution of the group if they’d developed their shtick inside a locked room, but for better or worse, it doesn’t sound like it.  It sounds like a band copping notes from the then-burgeoning scene and playing it with a sort of accepting sigh, like they don’t know what else to do.  The tracks do rock – they’re well produced, have some catchy choruses and etcetera – but there’s something grounding lacking that prevents it from feeling too inspired at any given moment, even though it’s played with gusto.  The only spot where it suddenly reminds you of what RK is capable of is last track ‘After School Special,’ which, yeah, is lyrically too young for them now, but suddenly we’re back with their roots – the vocals shift into that whiny, panting talk-sing, the guitars and drums are falling all over each other – it’s just a fun tune.  So it’s too bad that they couldn’t dial that in for more of the album.