- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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MagnetAug 23, 2012Researching the Blues is masterfully produced and keenly performed. [No.90, p.60]
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Kerrang!Aug 22, 2012They're back with a glorious melange of influence that borrows from everywhere but combines to sound like no-one else on earth. [1 Aug 2012, p.54]
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Aug 21, 2012Researching The Blues isn't the album to convert non-fans of Redd Kross, but it does manage to tie in with the rest of Redd Kross' discography without sounding dated or out of touch.
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Aug 20, 2012Redd Kross sound tighter and more energetic, even though their guitar tones have mellowed a little.
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Aug 14, 2012Just put on Researching the Blues, the band's first album in 15 years, and you'll still hear their juvenile sense of romanticism and fascination with American pop culture.
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Aug 10, 2012So, every sha la la-la and wo-o-wo-o still shines, as the brothers McDonald once crooned in Carpenters cover "Yesterday Once More" (which reached No. 45 hit on the charts in England!), or at least sort of shines: Cleaner production might've buried the vocals less.
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Aug 9, 2012While it's still a worthy comeback for a band way past its prime, Researching the Blues is similarly only a few solid tracks away from greatness.
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Aug 9, 2012After 34 years of recording, the brothers think it's their best collection yet. Again breaking the artistic rule, they may be right.
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Aug 8, 2012Some the hooks are among the best the band has ever written... [Yet] the 10 songs never feel like an Album so much as it does a collection of songs, more like productive jams from a group of middle-aged friends unwinding or celebrating than actually adding any kind of blues to their songwriting chops.
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Aug 8, 2012There's a studio slickness and a consistent attention to detail here-crisp hand claps, crystal-clear acoustic guitar strumming, clean drums-that most contemporary garage-rock bands have little interest in.
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Aug 7, 2012Redd Kross 2.0's incredible debut.
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Aug 7, 2012Embracing those basics of simplistic pop, the kind that doesn't need to be over thought, works nearly all of the time, and though a little bit of depth to the proceedings would have been nice here and there, a robust hook will do just as well.
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Aug 7, 2012Researching the Blues is a goddamn gem, crackling with energy, that totally celebrates the pure bliss and joy that rock 'n' roll can, and should be. In short, it's everything that you were hoping it would be.
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Aug 7, 2012Researching the Blues is one monster of a record, full of big, (yes) bluesy riffs while retaining a delectable pop sensibility. This is a record that's all about letting your hair down and having a whale of a fun time, nothing more or less.
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Aug 7, 2012The band doesn't break much ground--if you loved their '90s albums, chances are you'll appreciate this one. But maturity has its own rewards.
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Aug 7, 2012The band's handiwork makes the simple beauty of pop rock appear fresh and new.
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Aug 7, 2012What makes Researching so great, though, is its tight focus.
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Aug 6, 2012Not only is it their best-sounding album yet, totally alive and raw, but it contains some of the hookiest songs and most thrilling performances of their almost-35-year career in rock & roll.
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Alternative PressAug 6, 2012Researching the Blues is more like a graduate dissertation on power pop, and should be required listening. [Sep 2012, p.94
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Aug 6, 2012Researching the Blues may be one of the most pleasant surprises of 2012.
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UncutAug 3, 2012Redd Kross' comeback is a stunner, taut, hyper-melodic songwriting and heavenly harmonies wed to a veritable barrage of fierce hooks and riffs. [Aug 2012, p.78]
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Aug 3, 2012From start to finish, Researching The Blues satisfies. It's too bad there's no ballad, but the energy that crackles from these rockers makes it easy to forget about the lack of love songs.
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Aug 3, 2012If you like rock tunes with sharp melodies and earworm choruses, Researching the Blues isn't likely to give you anything to complain about. It's an album that feels, at its best, effortless. Other moments, however, feel too effortless, and as a result there are some missed opportunities.
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Aug 3, 2012Tremendous fun for powerpop lovers from start to finish.
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Aug 3, 2012Hardly a return to form, Researching The Blues (complete with the burp at the end of "One of the Good Ones") is nevertheless a document of a band having a good time doing what they love. When the hooks are this strong, it's hard not to have a good time with them.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 6
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Mixed: 0 out of 6
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Negative: 1 out of 6
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Aug 7, 2012
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Mar 7, 2013