Mary Timony - Return To Pirates

Throughout the 1990's, I watched kinda motionlessly as Helium came and went. Mary Timony's beautiful tough girl image with larger-than-life Paul Reed Smith guitar would eek out songs so hypnotic and simple, the significance of them would have been lost on me had I not watched so many in the indie rock scene of the '90's walking along side her -- Rebecca Gates, Kathleen Hanna, Lois Maffeo, Jenny Toomey, Sleater-Kinney, and the list goes on. I remember one particular show at The Crocodile in Seattle maybe 9 years ago where Mary's effortless command of her performance meshed in perfect mixture with bandmates Ash Bowie (from Polvo) and Shawn Devlin. Helium's grace was their uniqueness, Mary's in her reverence to her desire for innovation and her honest vocal delivery. I certainly like every girl on that list, but save a Spinanes gem or two and a touch of Bikini Kill, none of those other pretty girls made songs that held the same weight to me as "Super Ball" or "Lucy". Somewhere, I quit paying attention to Mary Timony, and I can't say I followed her exploits after Helium that much. It's been two years since she was heard from last. 2005 brings notice to a new album, Ex Hex, one which, to me, is the finest record I've heard featuring Mary Timony since Helium's The Dirt Of Luck. The record is filled with ranging guitar parts, quiet screams, and the singularly fearless delivery that Mary is known for. Fans of Helium will find themselves deeply satisfied to hear this recording. Art-garage rock has never sounded as beautiful as it does here in the hands of one of its true innovators.

For a sample of another song from the CD, head over to Lookout Records site where you can hear the track "Friend of J.C." as well.