Madder Rose
Tragic Magic
Atlantic Records
Release Date: 1997
In the first half of the 1990s, Madder Rose injected a much-needed dose of substance into the floaty, little-girl-vocal genre typified by the likes of Juliana Hatfield. Now, the band is doing the same thing for the inevitable fusion of indie pop and the amorphous electronica.
Madder Rose is well prepared for the task. The band anchored its early demos with a drum machine, and singer Mary Lorson says the group liked the "mix of hip-hop collage and guitar-band noise." Now, six years later, they have come full circle, integrating hip-hop beats and jazzy samples into songs that still maintain Madder Rose's wistful, rainy-day quality.
Tragic Magic shimmers with sexy, swaggering tempos and delectably moogy keyboards. Lorson's inviting vocals, fuller and richer than on past efforts, stand up to the meaty textures of standout tracks like "My Star" and "Hung Up in You." Never does Tragic Magic sound like some hack rock band playing with neato electronic toys. These dozen songs are seamless layerings of live instruments with creative samples, not extended dance remixes by a bunch of flat-footed guitar slingers.
-- Lindy Powell
powell@outersound.com
