Mesmerizing....
06/25/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mayo Thompson & Co. never fail to intrigue. This disc is pretty much an amalgam of their stripped down (Dare I say "Folkier"???) Drag City sound filtered through elements of electronic minimalism. There is a real stream of consciouness flow to the entire proceedings (More so, than on any of their other recent efforts), with some tracks offering a low fidelity paraphrase of "Parable of an Arable Land" style free-form freakouts. Fascinating/uncompromising stuff that evolves with each listening."
Maybe I'm not burned out enough to appreciate this
A. Davis | Berkshires | 05/14/2007
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I have a few Red Krayola albums. Some are better than others, but based on my informal survey, they deserve their status as unknown underground runners-up. They offer nothing that hooks you in, at least not to these ears. I like Alex Chilton at his worst, I like Jandek at times, but this just sounds like aimless noodling by people who may not be either talented or intense. Tony Williams it's not.
There's a guy who camps out under the overpass near my place in LA. I imagine something akin to this album running through his sun-baked head all day long. He looks menacing at times, but he really couldn't get it together to attack you, so don't worry."
Red Krayola - 'Fingerpainting' (Drag City)
Mike Reed | USA | 06/28/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Okay,so-so late '90's effort by the highly experimental, eleven piece (on this title, anyway) band. Tunes here I thought were somewhat entertaining were "There There, Betty Betty", the rather upbeat "Mother" and the fifteen-minute "Out Of A Trombone That Is Divided". Like all their other releases, 'Fingerpainting' merely showcases the Red Krayola's tendency to create such off-the-wall arrangements and {sometimes} noisy playing. Definitely an acquired taste."