Today Redd Kross shares the rousing new single “Born Innocent,” the second song made available from the highly anticipated 18-track eponymous double-album, due for release June 28, 2024 courtesy of In the Red Records. Not to be confused with the debut studio album of the same name from 1982, the new track “Born Innocent” closes out Redd Kross, and is something of a theme song for the band, detailing Redd Kross‘s 1979 inception, when Jeff McDonald (then 15) and his brother Steven (then only 11), two school-kids all hopped-up on punk-rock, started their own group in their hometown of Hawthorne, Los Angeles (birthplace of the Beach Boys) and soon found themselves opening shows for notorious scene pioneers Black Flag. 2024 marks Redd Kross‘s 45th birthday – an important anniversary for any group whose heart pulses at 45RPM – and the brothers are celebrating the event with a veritable multimedia extravaganza.
“Born Innocent” appears in the closing credits of the brilliant documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story, directed by Andrew Reich, who has also directed the video that accompanies the single’s release, which features footage from the must-see documentary. There’s also a memoir, Now You’re One Of Us, due in October, author Dan Epstein telling the group’s story in the McDonalds’ unmistakable (and occasionally contrary) voices.
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story, which has been making the festival rounds, will have its L.A. premiere this week, kicking-off this year’s Don’t Knock the Rock film festival (programmed by filmmaker Allison Anders and her daughter, music supervisor Tiffany Anders), and was just covered by Variety who said: “The story of Redd Kross, the most underrated band of their generation, is told in fascinating detail…they’re legit OGs on any number of levels…the group’s remarkable story is rendered in vivid and focused detail, which moves at a steady clip and impressively avoids many possible rabbit holes…it not only contextualizes the group and its influence, there are little-known, brain-busting details” and The Los Angeles Times who said: “‘Born Innocent’ spotlights the knockabout chemistry between brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald, positioning their band Redd Kross as an essential influence on four decades of rock in Los Angeles. Unexpectedly inspirational for the way they have soldiered on in the face of a teenage kidnapping, substance abuse, the ups-and-downs of the music business and more, the brothers emerge with their love for music and each other intact.”
STREAM the new “Born Innocent” Single HERE
WATCH the Video Directed by Andrew Reich HERE
“Born Innocent” follows the April announcement of Redd Kross which was accompanied by the rip-roaring lead single “Candy Coloured Catastrophe” complemented by a splatter-painted video directed by Gilbert Trejo, starring the McDonald brothers, along with Dale Crover (Steven’s bandmate in Melvins) and Astrid McDonald (who fronts Side Eyes and happens to be Jeff’s daughter). “Candy Coloured Catastrophe” opens Redd Kross with the perfect vibe: an itchy, unforgettable acid-pop nugget, taking impish swings at what Steven describes as “the fine arts career of a well-known pop star who we love-love-love, and also love to make fun of.” “Our message is, ‘What is art?’,” adds Jeff. “Who gets to decide? And maybe these rock-stars who suddenly decide they’re fine artists and Hollywood actors who decide they’re punk-rock singers should, you know, stay in their lane.” “Candy Coloured Catastrophe” caught the attention of Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence, Exclaim!, Punknews, Stereogum and many others upon its release.
Redd Kross is also set to play their first shows since before the pandemic, starting with an appearance at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas this coming weekend, followed by a set at Azkena Rock Festival in Spain, before a summer tour that starts in early July just after the album’s release, with support from Dale Crover who is wearing many hats, playing drums with Redd Kross for these dates, and opening with solo acoustic + DJ sets.
