(April 2024) Episode 559 is REDD KROSS. They provided a combination of hard guitars and melodic songcraft that filled the gap between 1970s power pop and the 1990s pop punk and power pop revival. LA-area brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald started out with a punk sound but added the melodies by the late 1980s. By its label I should be all over this, but I found the sum less than the parts. Generally their songs lack the hooks that I look for in power pop songs, although their two 2010s albums did do a better job at that.
Favorite album: Researching the Blues
Favorite song: The Nu Temptations
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: The two 2010s albums, but I suspect that true fans will point to their 1980 EP.
Opus Project 