The Red Krayola - Introduction - 2006

It doesn't seem to have the same "breezy" feel as The Sea and Cake or the quasi-Steely Dan vibe of Jim O'Rourke's Nick Roeg-titled albums, but it does have a kind of precision I haven't really heard from Mayo Thompson before. I think it holds together really well, and I especially like "Greasy Street" and "A Tale of Two...", but I haven't yet listened to the whole album very closely.

Fisrt Red Krayola album I've bought since Soldier Talk & Kangaroo apart from the recent-ish "Singles" comp. and I've only listened to it a couple of times so far - and neither time really giving it my undivided attention - but the impression so far is that there are a lot of different styles being adopted / adapted / attempted, resulting in a feel more like a compilation than a "proper" album.

One or two rather Beefheart-ish numbers (which is a good thing, obv.); another couple very reminiscent of the Soldier Talk / Kangaroo collaborations with Pere Ubu / Gina Birch & Lora Logic (alos a good thing); another couple of unexpectedly subtle (acoustic?) numbers (hmmmm....).

Definitely intriguing - I need to listen to this again more attentively.

I reviewed it if any of you all are interested:

http://www.citypaper.com/music/recordreview.asp?id=10318

i was excited about it as i heard it was similar to 'hazel' which is my favorite red krayola record... it's certainly very song-oriented, moreso than records like 'fingerpainting' - but lacks the warmth that makes me love 'hazel'. still, it's very good, very interesting and i will be listening to it a lot more....