The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events

1	Scream and Run Away From the Bad Beginning 2:25
2	In the Reptile Room From the Reptile Room 2:14
3	The World Is a Very Scary Place From the Wide Window 2:25
4	Dreary, Dreary, Dreary 2:41
5	When You Play the Violin From the Austere Academy 3:53
6	This Abyss From the Ersatz Elevator 3:06
7	Crows From the Vile Village 2:41
8	Smile! No One Cares How You Feel From the Hostile Hospital 1:51
9	Freakshow From the Carnivorous Carnival 2:56
10	How Do You Slow This Thing Down? From the Slippery Slope 3:11
11	A Million Mushrooms From the Grim Grotto 1:58
12	Things Are Not What They Appear From the Penultimate Peril 3:46
13	Shipwrecked From the End of the Ring Wars 2:37
14	Walking My Gargoyle Original Song from the Carnivorous Carnival 2:38
15	We Are the Gothic Archies 2:56

Barnes & Noble

Bookish pre-teens and indie-pop hipsters aren't usually part of the same demographic, but leave it to Lemony Snicket to bridge that gap with the help of Magnetic Fields songwriter Stephin Merritt. Through the first dozen books in his Series of Unfortunate Events, Snicket -- known in the real world as author and accordion player Daniel Handler -- has been spinning woeful and wildly popular tales of adventure. Now, arriving alongside the 13th and final installment (appropriately titled The End), this companion album collects the songs Merritt his written for each audiobook volume in the series, along with two additional tracks. His hilariously grim lyrics and fiendishly clever music are a perfect match for Handler's twisted comic vision, but also a natural pendant to the songs he's been recording with his other bands for years. Credited to the Gothic Archies -- Merritt's goth-bubblegum pop group, which also introduced us to the horrible glories of The New Despair on a previous outing -- The Tragic Treasury will have you giddily crooning along to Merritt's memorable tunes, even when he's singing of "disgust and despair and dismay," warning that "Even babies lie," or promising that "Everyone you despise will die, so smile!" There's a somber edge to some of the synth-pop sounds -- and, as always, to Merritt's unmistakably croaky voice -- but the musical gloom is always conveyed with a light touch, especially in the surprisingly sweet melodic hooks of "Walking My Gargoyle." Merritt has always had a gift for aptly ironic wordplay, but the irreverent prose of Lemony Snicket has inspired some of the most wickedly amusing songs of his career. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

After the huge success of A Series of Unfortunate Events, accordionist/screenwriter/author Daniel Handler, better known as nefarious children's writer Lemony Snicket, asked longtime friend and musical collaborator Stephin Merritt (Handler has done time with the Magnetic Fields and the 6ths), to contribute some songs to the widely popular series' audio books. Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events is the first full-length recording from Merritt's Gothic Archies, a novelty project that began in 1997 with the New Despair EP, and its' not-so-subtle blend of Dr. Seuss imagery and carnival ride dynamics, bolstered by Merritt's impeccable faux-goth delivery (he sounds eerily like the Sister of Mercy Andrew Eldritch) serves the story well. All of the 13 songs that appeared on the audio books are present, as well as two bonus tracks. One of these, "Walking My Gargoyle," is an extra from the ninth book in the series, Carnivorous Carnival, while the other, "We are the Gothic Archies," serves as the band's theme song. Merritt doesn't deviate from his signature lo-fi synth pop and brooding vocals, but he certainly sounds like he's having a whole lot of fun, something the listener will attain as well, as long as they don't expect anything that bears the irreverent emotional weight that he's applied to previous projects. Reverend Lee Power