“If you aren’t totally repelled by the first album’s title or indescribably grotesque cover painting, you may find yourself enthralled by Tragic Mulatto’s bizarre musical universe. The five members — whose names are given as Fluffy, Blossom, Flossy, Sweetums and A Piece of Eczema — collectively sing and play bass, drums, trumpet and sax. Produced with little sonic élan by Dead Kennedy bassist Klaus Flouride, parts sound like jazzy Flipper; an ominous rock rumble with jagged horn noise and dramatic vocals. Some numbers are faster and well-organized to the point where they resemble a ’40s big band on bad drugs; others could be an incompetent jazz combo vainly tuning up while someone soundchecks the microphones.
A suspiciously rechristened quartet (Reverend Elvister Shanksly, Flatula Lee Roth, Jazzbo Smith and Richard Skidmark) turned up for the salacious second LP (pointedly numbered VIRUS 69), a wild honking noise party that includes such brilliantly titled scatological creations as “Swineherd in the Tenderloin,” “Underwear Maintenance” (a detailed paean to menstruation) and a sex manual titled “Twerpenstein.”
A well-rehearsed cover of Slade’s “I Don’t Mind” (with mondo guitar and a bit of tuba) gets Chartreuse Toulouse off to an excellent start, and the album rarely loses momentum from there, although the shrill “My Mother” and the lengthy and monotonous “Scabs on Lori’s Arm” are hazards to avoid. The solidly constructed (and, except for “Bathroom at Amelia’s,” conceptually tamer) songs, Flatula’s down-to-business Grace Slick-style singing and the quintet’s ability to follow a musical road map through a squealing storm of six-string horror (shifting into acoustic gear on a couple of folky tracks!) make this psychedelic trip one of Tragic Mulatto’s great adventures.” – Trouser Press
Tragic Mulatto
Chartreuse Toulouse
MediaFire Download Link
Tracklist:
01. I Don’t Mind [Slade]
02. Stinking Corpse Lily
03. Debbie
04. My Mother
05. Rhythm Of Barcelona
06. Bathroom At Amelia’s
07. Scabs On Lori’s Arm
08. Farm
09. Man With A Tan
10. Rise Up/Get Down
