TS: Madder Rose vs Magnapop

xpost

I still love Bring It Down & Panic On. The other 2 had their moments but were pretty patchy.

'bring it down' is the debut... 'beautiful john' is a really pretty light jangle, 'while away' does the noise-fringed downer girl group thing better than anyone else ever, anywhere, and 'swim' is just dreamy. the other tracks are pretty killer too.

'panic on' was the second album, and i love about every song, but especially 'car song' (chorus: 'i think of you all day long / now try and get some sleep' [swooning guitar break] = PERFECTION), 'almost lost my mind' (where the guitars sound like steel drums, and mary sounds like karen carpenter), 'day in day out' (chorus: "you never even ask me how i feel") and 'when you smile' (chorus: "seems i only see you smile when you dream"). aw, this record is PERFECT.

'tragic magic' was the major-debut that suffered from dated post-trip hop production and no motivation from the label. there's some good stuff on there, but only 'hung up in you' and 'don greene' really kill.

'hello june fool' was their last, and i reckon it might be their best. darker, more mature, less upbeat, possessed of a real dreamy, opiated gloom that's like a really heavy, humid summer day, headache music. but the songs... especially 'should've known' (spector-pop melancholia), 'hello june fool' (a big squalling lazy anthem) and the heavy dub of 'dark rain'.

if you see any of these albums, i would say buy them.

Bring it Down is nearly as good, but I didn't really like Tragic Magic (bought in Tower Records in New Orleans!) and sold it eventually. From the sound of it I ought to get Hello June Fool though.

Madder Rose somehow flew just below my radar for a few years without ever managing to attract my interest. But on the basis of "Car Song" alone, they're worth revisiting.

"Texas", off Hot Boxing is an excellent song. Bob Mould's production gives the guitars a Sugary roar on the choruses, which accentuates their rush coming out of the verses. The singing is pretty much par for the early 90s indie course, but the Stipe-y backing vocals on the chorus are candy to a REM head like me.

I've seen Magnapop and they were great live.

yeah, I saw them on the Sugar tour mentioned above and I enjoyed them a lot more than Sugar that night (that roar gets wearying after two hours).

God I used to love that album.

OTOH:

Conscious now so you walk around
Awake enough to hold your ground
The river's edge, you jump right in
The current's strong, it makes you spin
Your arms in a wild rotation
Your arms in a wild rotation

Truth's enough to set you afloat
Describe the truth as a yellow life boat
Admitting this you climb the ladder
But now the yellow boat just looks
Sadder

Hey Rose, hey Madder
Hey Rose, do I make you sadder?

*** *** ***

from memory, at least a decade down the line

i still miss madder rose

I remember reading a review of Madder Rose ca. 1993 that made me want to hear them. But I never did.

So I'll take Magnapop by default -- I never heard any of their albums, either, but I really liked "Slowly, Slowly" and "Lay It Down."

just listened to "Texas" off Hot Boxing---it's been a while, & I know the record was produced by Bob Mould, but this sounds like a Sugar song. I can't find anything online about the genesis of this song, but maybe someone here knows what kind of a role Mould played in the songwriting on this album? He isn't credited on any songs here, fwiw.

Saw Madder Rose open for the Sundays in 1993. Pretty great show!

every time this thread is revived i hope in vain for madder rose reunion/posting of rarities/live youtubes

there is a new madder rose album?!

Huh. Didn't expect that!

https://store.tromerecords.com/album/to-be-beautiful

!!!

One of my buddies is in Magnapop, they still do the occasional tour.

It's v good! The new LP, I mean...

last thing I expected to see but welcome

and not to be outdone... https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/magnapop-the-circle-is-round

impeccable timing

Love both these. Magnapop was doing a live on FB yesterday.

Magnapop. I cannot help but listen to Slowly, slowly" with velocity girl's "sorry again" and Spinane's "Spitfire" all in a row. they all belong together for me.

Magnapop's "Lay It Down" was secretly one of the great songs of the 90s.

x-post - YES. My senior year of HS jams. <3

mine too!

saw magnapop in alaska circa 1995 with jon wurster filling in as emergency drummer

try to get some sleep

easy for you to say, Mary!

Great song, listening to it and that 2nd album a lot lately. It's odd I never checked out that 2nd album of theirs until recently because I loved their 1st one so much.

The second is my favourite. Their fourth, Hello June Fool, is really, really excellent too.

2nd LP is my first and still favourite, Drop a Bomb -> Ultra Anxiety -> Happy New Year especially.

They were so so great live, too. I remember an "unplugged" show at Dingwalls circa Panic On, with everyone plugged in and Johnny Kick playing conga with empty Evian bottles, that was just wonderfulness. They did the best covers, too.

apparently there's a new Madder Rose album coming out later this year. I love their 1st 2 albums so much, I think Panic On is one of my favourite albums of all time tbh

now try to get some sleep

Excellent news - there was great stuff on the album they put out on 2019. Their first two albums are fantastic, but I also really love their fourth, Hello June Fool. Very much worth checking out if you've never heard it.

New album (‘No One Gets Hurt Ever’) is now out and I’m enjoying it. Really liked ‘To Be Beautiful’ too.

ty!

I love it. Better than the last one! Much more in their classic vein.