Lookout Records
2005
Ex Hex
About This Album
Mary Timony's first two solo albums, Mountains and The Golden Dove, had a mystical, fairy-folk bent that was intriguing (and also presaged the popularity of similarly inspired acts like Faun Fables, Joanna Newsom, and White Magic) but also puzzling to fans of her work with Helium and Autoclave. After moving house, both personally (back to her old haunt, Washington, D.C.) and musically (to Lookout! Records), she returns with Ex Hex, a more straightforward but still delicate collection of songs that sound like exorcisms of past situations and relationships. Even though the album is on a label usually associated with punk and shows off Timony's impressive electric guitar skills, it's not as much of a return to rock as might be expected. To be sure, "On the Floor" -- a great kiss-off to a lazy (soon to be ex-) boyfriend -- and "Friend to JC" kick-start Ex Hex with a one-two rock punch, but the dark, electric piano-driven "Silence" is nearly as winding and expansive as anything that appeared on Timony's first two solo albums. Whether she surrounds her voice and melodies with guitar, bass, and drums or more exotic instruments, her approach is still distinctive (and remarkably consistent over her career): "W.
Track List (try tracks 1,5,6 and 11)

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