The Red Summer received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its showcasing of the group's "bright and vivid" side.

Entertainment announced that Red Velvet would be releasing an album in July for a summer comeback (a first for the group) and had recently finished filming the music video.

The lead single "Red Flavor" was described by writer Tamar Herman of Billboard magazine as an electropop song with "dramatic synths and a percussive melody."

Originally produced by production team Caesar & Loui, the track features background vocals from songwriter Ylva Dimberg and a distorted lyrics "red flavor" done by Lindell himself.

It was later rewritten in Korean by SM songwriter and producer Kenzie, whom had previously worked with the group on their first studio album and their third extended play.

Jeff Benjamin of Fuse magazine described the song as a "super-simple-to-swallow piece of pop" and wrote that the album consists of five 'feel-good' tracks.

The tropical dance track "Zoo" is a throwback to the group's animal sound-infused debut single "Happiness".

"Mojito" was defined as a saccharine, glossy, electropop song and lastly, "Hear the Sea" is a mid-tempo R&B track.

[8][9] Chester Chin of The Star described the album as a "sizzling affair that highlights the girl group's more vivid and upbeat side".