REDD.

20 year-old REDD. is here to serve us straight Australian angst. Queer, creative, and bold, REDD. has been building his diverse inventory of singles since 2023 in preparation for his debut mixtape, RAUNCH, released this June. Released under Universal Australia, the mixtape is an 11-track run coming in at a respectable but very doable 28 minutes. The mixtape is an elevator pitch. Brief, punchy, and all-encompassing, REDD. lays it all on the table. It is the perfect introduction to the dynamic artist and the range of genres that he considers his playground. 

Grunge rock. Indie pop. Alternative hip-hop. Emo rap. Rage core. RAUNCH is all over the place - and yet feels acutely coherent. Despite REDD.’s many influences - Post Malone, Trippie Red, Teezo Touchdown, Tyler, The Creator, Dominic Fike, and even Doja Cat just to name a few - he most certainly has a sound of his own. In fact, his production is rather remarkably fresh. I would expect nothing less from someone signed with a major label for their debut, but wow. REDD.’s chaos is perfectly in-order. Drums are crisp. Guitars are snarling. Melodies are catchy, energetic, and fierce. And yet, REDD.’s feels surprisingly in-control. The instrumentals only overpower REDD.’s voice when he wants them to. His voice is our tether to the music.

I would even go as far to say that his stories are at the forefront of this album. On the whole, REDD.’s writing is not the most original you’ll ever hear, but it is accessible and fun. He flexes an impressive voice (credits to his theater background) layered with plenty of strange adlibs and chants. Safe to say I am impressed. The title track is particularly animated and addictive. A smart move to start with a diss track. It is to-the-point and feisty, but without scaring us away. Rather, it leaves us curious. “I'm a brutalist, don't treat me like I'm new to this; Prince is just a pseudonym, present like I'm new to this; Years in the makin' (Yah), genre-breakin', limitless makin', club-quakin'.” Who does this guy think he is? We must listen on to find out. 

What I appreciate about REDD. is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously - take SHIMMY SHAKE., for example: a raw account of heartbreak, disguised as a boogie song about dancing the pain away. Even if repetitive at times, the beat keeps us invested. Granted, the intersection of an emboldened and unserious attitude also leads REDD. to occasionally misfire. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for absurdities - but I can’t say I am convinced by the “Fuck shit fuck fuck fuck shit bitch” x16 or “My baby girl she got a tight skirt; Mini, she my Paris Hilton; But better looking” in FUGH SHI.. I see what REDD. is going for, but I think he still has a thing or two to learn from Tyler, The Creator about how it's done.

Whether he is whispering sultry promises in our year, hurling razor-sharp verbal assaults our way, or laughing as if he knows something we don’t, REDD.’s unique voice and unpredictable flows keep us tuned-in - even if he can be repetitive at some point (working on diversifying his verses will be something to work on for him). For now, his substantive, original song structures will take him a long way.

In sum, RAUNCH lives up to the name. It is unapologetically REDD. Take it or leave it. But don’t sleep on this sure-to-be star.