Madder Rose
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1991 in New York City, United States |
| Founder | Billy Coté, Mary Lorson |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Alternative rock music, albums |
Madder Rose is an alternative rock group originating from New York City, primarily active during the 1990s, with a revival phase starting in 2015. The band’s lineup was led by Mary Lorson, who co-wrote songs alongside guitarist Billy Coté. After the band's dissolution in 1999, the pair continued their partnership by producing albums through other ventures and composing scores for films, notably including HBO's What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann. To date, Madder Rose has released six studio albums, highlighted by their comeback albums To Be Beautiful in 2019 and No One Gets Hurt Ever in 2023. Their tracks have been featured in prominent films, television series, and have appeared on John Peel's Festive Fifty chart.
History
Madder Rose was established in 1991 in Greenwich Village when songwriter Billy Coté teamed up with Mary Lorson. Their first album, Bring It Down (1993), came out on Atlantic Records’ Seed Records imprint, accompanied by the Swim EP later that same year. Although initially reluctant to sign directly with Atlantic, the band gained significant exposure performing on the main stage at the 1993 Reading Festival. Bring It Down received substantial critical praise, including high placements on the College Media Journal charts. Following this, they released Panic On (1994), then two additional albums—Tragic Magic and Hello June Fool—before disbanding in 1999.
In 2015, Coté revealed intentions to create new material under the Madder Rose name, which led to the release of To Be Beautiful through Trome Records in 2019 and the subsequent album No One Gets Hurt Ever in 2023.
Musical style
Critics have characterized Madder Rose’s sound as capturing a drug-infused languidness, prompting British music media to compare them to a revival of the Velvet Underground. A 1994 review in Rolling Stone described their music as a fusion of grunge elements with the delicate vocal tones reminiscent of The Cranberries. Their musical direction transitioned from indie pop rock—similar to contemporaries such as Velocity Girl, Lush, Helium, and Juliana Hatfield—towards incorporating shoegaze and trip-hop influences.
Other projects
Following Madder Rose’s breakup, Mary Lorson formed the alt-folk group Saint Low, featuring Coté on guitar and production duties; their debut album was released in 2000. Subsequent releases included Tricks for Dawn (2002) and Realistic (2006), credited to Mary Larson & Saint Low. In 2011, she issued Burn Baby Burn under Mary B. Lorson & The Soubrettes.
Billy Coté launched his solo album Amateur Soul Surgery in 2000 and produced two 12" singles as part of The Jazz Cannon alongside vocalist Don Greene, with Lorson contributing vocals. Later collaborations with Uniit Carruyo as Glen the Owl also involved Lorson and showcased Coté’s artwork for album sleeves.
Together, Coté and Lorson released a predominantly instrumental record titled Piano Creeps on Cooking Vinyl in 2003. Alongside multi-instrumentalist Kathy Zeigler, they formed The Piano Creeps and released Future Blues (For Me and You) in 2008 through The Kora Records.
Currently, Billy Coté occasionally collaborates with Johnny Dowd, providing guitar work on two albums. They co-wrote "Bound for Hell" for a tribute album honoring Love and Rockets, titled New Tales to Tell, as well as "Constant Waiting" for the Jeffrey Lee Pierce tribute collection We Are Only Riders. Additionally, Coté contributed moog synthesizer and guitar parts to Evi Vine’s 2015 release Give Your Heart to the Hawks.
Band members
- Billy Coté – guitar
- Mary Lorson – vocals, guitar
- Matt Verta-Ray – bass, vocals
- Rick Kubic (Johnny Kick) – drums, vocals
- Chris Giammalvo – bass
Discography
Albums
- Bring It Down (1993)
- Panic On (1994)
- Tragic Magic (1997)
- Hello June Fool (1999)
- To Be Beautiful (2019)
- No One Gets Hurt Ever (2023)
EPs
- Swim (1993)
- Car Song (1994)
- The Love You Save (1995)
Singles
- "Beautiful John" (1993)