The Texan auteur Mayo Thompson is the Red Krayola. In the 1960s, he shared a label with acid-rock legends the 13th Floor Elevators, and in the 1970s and 1980s impressed punk's smarter, artier elements. He produced the Fall and reconvened Krayola with members of Pere Ubu and the Raincoats. Today, Krayola comprises Thompson and collaborators from Tortoise, Gastr del Sol and Sonic Youth. Singles provides more than three decades' worth of snapshots of Thompson's determinedly childlike genius. There's a vaudeville streak, filtered through a frazzled mind, to much of the earlier work, and recent recordings see Thompson, a generous facilitator, allowing new colleagues to make their own voices heard. The reinvigorated Hazel, from 1996, and the double CD of both 1960s albums remain the easiest entry points.
Drag City