If Punkdom Assembled hadn’t watched Red Cross/Redd Kross grow up from screechy adolescent garage punks to living talismans of Southern California kitsch and decadence before our eyes—that is to say, if they just showed up out of nowhere around the time of, say, Third Eye, and we were all left to our own devices to speculate whence these strange beings had come and how they arrived at such a sound—one might be reasonably inclined to believe that this album was, perhaps, a compilation of the band’s early demos, when they were still attempting to find their way, both aesthetically and acoustically. Rephrased in a somewhat less speculative context, this album sounds kinda like a not-quite-there-yet (and/or more laid-back) version of Redd Kross—a little jangle, a little fuzz—which may thrill or appall the listener as their taste or lack thereof dictates. I think it’s fairly decent, but this is definitely the kind of record one needs to spin about ten times before making a final determination on whether it’s gonna grow on you or just get routed to the used record store, and I am not a creature of infinite patience. Plus I’ve always hated records where each track has its own listing of the musicians who played on it, so this one might be on kinda thin ice. Still, this album has the best damn Mellotron playing of any record I reviewed this issue. BEST SONG: “So Far Down.” BEST SONG TITLE: “Heavy Star.” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: KRGA is the last name of this project’s main guy, Ryan Krga. I thought maybe KRGA was radio station call letters somewhere, but it’s not. Too bad his last name wasn’t Kroq, it would have been better for his career. –Rev. Nørb (Hoser)