Tragic Magic

Tragic Magic, also stylized as tragicmagic, is an album by the American band Madder Rose, released in 1997.^[2][3] The band promoted the album by touring with Junior Cottonmouth.^[4]

Tragic Magic
Studio album by Madder Rose
Released	1997
Label	Atlantic[1]
Producer	Billy Coté
Madder Rose chronology
Panic On (1994) Tragic Magic (1997) Hello June Fool (1999)

Production

The album was produced by bandmember Billy Coté, who also wrote most of the lyrics.^[5][6] It was Madder Rose's first album with bass player Chris Giammalvo.^[7] The band added elements of funk and hip hop to its sound.^[8] Later editions of the album contain different opening tracks, "Narco" and "Jailbird".^[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[11]
The Evening Post	[6]
Los Angeles Daily News	[12]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[13]
The Republican	[14]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that the album "is frustratingly half-baked and suffers from near-funereal pacing... Fortunately, Mary Lorson's lighter-than-air vocals counter even the most sedative of tracks."^[11] The Washington Post thought that "the melodies are sturdy... It's tunes like 'Hung Up in You', more than the revisited folk-hop sound, that provides most of the album's appeal."^[15] The Los Angeles Daily News praised the "innovative, bass-heavy sound and standout songs."^[12] The Republican opined that "the seductive grooves of 'My Star', and the mildly appealing '(She's a) Satellite', are two of the only salvageable moments here."^[14]

The Dayton Daily News stated: "Sometimes laid-back jazzy, sometimes spacey coffeehouse pop, always lyrically introspective, there really isn't a bad cut here."^[16] Guitar Player called Coté a "vibey and tasteful popster," writing that he "dials in a music store's worth of tones-pristine arpeggios, scritchy wah washes, fuzzy flashbacks, surf solos, hypnotic noir motifs."^[5]

AllMusic wrote that, "as if to signal that they were still hip, Madder Rose incorporated heavy elements of trip-hop on Tragic Magic, and while that gambit failed for some of their peers, the band manages to blend the dance and guitar-pop well."^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Star"
2.	"Real Feel"
3.	"Float to the Top"
4.	"Hung Up in You"
5.	"Delight's Pool"
6.	"(She's a) Satellite"
7.	"Peter and Victor"
8.	"Best Friend"
9.	"Scenes from 'Starbright'"
10.	"Midnight on the Dot"
11.	"Don Greene"
12.	"Not Perfect"