Madder Rose - Biography
By Will Keightley
Madder Rose emerged from the New York music scene in the 90's. Central to the band's fluid melodic style were guitarist and lead vocalist Mary Lorson and guitarist and Billy Coté. Backed by drummer Johnny Kick and Matt Verta-Ray on bass they released four full length albums that, while attaining considerable critical praise and a devoted core of fans, never really made a commercial splash.
Their first album, Bring It Down (1993 - Seed) was released at the right time. Bolstered by its canny combination of melody and edginess it picked up a swirl of good reviews. The album also benefited by the wave of attention given to female rockers at the time like Juliana Hatfield, PJ Harvey, The Breeders and Belly. The band picked up a momentum that easily carried them through their major label debut, Panic On (1994 - Seed/Atlantic) a year later. The album perhaps most capably presented their signature combination of jangly guitars and butter-smooth vocals, and garnered the band MTV exposure.
The popularity wave had subsided by the time Madder Rose got around to releasing Tragic Magic (1997 – Atlantic). Bassist Matt Verta-Ray had left the group and followed a more rockabilly musical path, so the band replaced him with Chris Giammalvo. The band's sound for this album was more stripped down. They replaced the guitar blaze with a dusky trip-hop brume, and it failed to capture public attention. Similarly, the band's independently released swan song, Hello, June Fool (1999 – Thirsty Ear) barely made a ripple in the alternative airwaves. Madder Rose called it quits shortly thereafter. Coté and Lorson continued to write together and separately. While Piano Creeps (2003 – First Time) was released under their own names, they also put out three albums under the moniker Saint Low through 2006.
