Customer Reviews

Ex Hex

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This time out Ms. Timony goes ultra-lo-fi. My wife actually asked me if the album had been recorded in a garage upon hearing it. But ultra-lo-fi isn't so bad, the balance in the production was still sharp and it comes off as a more controlled live performance. This time she also abandoned the fantasy creatures for the most part, but subbed, ahem, Jesus Christ. I'm not sure if Ms. Timony found religion, but J-Diddy gets dropped in a song title and a chorus of an additional song. And not one mention of a peacock OR an ocelot. Very atypical.

In the personnel and instrumentation department, nothing against former drummer Christina Files, but the work of Mr. Ocampo this time around does provide more texture and energy than provided by past album work. This ultimately plays a lot more like a rock record than Timony's prior solo output. The keybaord takes a back burner to guitar and missing is the cello that played so prominent a role on The Golden Dove.

That all being said (if it wasn't clear, I miss the cello and the keyboard), this is still a fairly solid album. I will perhaps regret lowballing it at 3 stars, but every review always seems to go for the five, so I'll be passing on that. Timony albums in general take several listens to be truly appreciated and my use of this album would still be best described in to be in its infancy. There was no "grab you immediately" song such as The Golden Dove's "Dr. Cat" or Mountains' "I Fire Myself", but there were definitely standout moments. The keyboard canoodling of "In the Grass", the guitarwork of "Harmony", and, dare I say it, the lyrical stylings of "Silence" all stand out fairly quickly.

But for the uninitiated, this is Mary Timony. She still doesn't always hit the notes likely intended, and often comes off as disaffected or makes odd lyrical choices . However, it has been rewarding in the past to overlook those shortcomings and this album is no exception. Even if the ocelots feel a bit slighted at this time. Poor little guys.

I never come on here to write reviews but it's already been 3 days since the album came out and I'm surprised nobody has written anything yet. I love Mary Timony when she's in Helium and solo. It's fairly rare lately to find the combination of an expert lyricist, vocalist, songwriter, and musician. Every aspect of her songwriting and execution is brilliant. This CD is loud, hopnotic, distorted, and beautiful. I hope people give it a good chance because, like most other Mary Timony music, it really takes a good 5-10 listens before it begins to reveal itself. When you begin to understand it it's extremely rewarding. So if you like sexy, creepy layered vocals, awesome drums, and creative guitar work, BUY EX HEX. It's Entrancing.

This Record has swirling guitar lines, fantastic drumming and Mary's great lyrics all in a tasty Progressive-Indie-Rock Cookie! MMMM Scrumptious!

Ex Hex is a superlative record without one dull moment. It's Mary Timony's most confident-sounding and grooviest album to date. I thought it couldn't get much better than her 1st Solo album, Mountains, but Ex Hex has surpassed even that great record! There's plenty of Timony's trademark, warpy splashes of tremolo in several songs, and of course, plenty of creepy, mysterious lyrics throughout. Every song is a delight to listen to, but the standout tracks are: 'On the Floor', 'Friend to J.C.', 'Silence', 'In the Grass', 'Hard Times are Hard!', '9X3', 'W.O.W' and especially the brilliant album closer 'Backwards/Forwards'.
Devin Ocampo's drumming is superb as well, and propels each song with ferocity. I highly recommend Ex Hex to anyone who likes good music.

Mary Timony is my favorite of recent discoveries. If you ask why, it's because her music reminds me so much of Sonic Youth. But she wants the listener to know this right from the start. She's like a younger Kim Golden. Ex Hex, her latest release, is extremely good. It's a blend of her medieval tones like piano, strings, chimes with indie rock and some added noise pop from her previous outfit, Helium. "On the Floor" is an powerful way to begin the album. Timony immediately indicates a departure from her previous two albums that have been more of a focus of low fi experimentalism. "9X3" is perhaps my favorite, because it does everything right. It builds with a strong weaving pattern very nicely, and just when you think the song has nowhere to go, it breaks down into a completely different section (at about 3:00) and concludes beautifully. To close, "Backwards/Forwards" is just what you think it is. It's a dizzying array of textures and moments (to quote Newman from Seinfeld describing 'love'). It spirals in and spirals out. Wow, I'm beginning to sound like Maynard from Tool on "Lateralus". Hahaha, I could go on forever with this. Anyway, I'm really fond of this woman for bringing back some originality and power to indie rock. Probably my second favorite album this year.

I love Mary Timony, especially during her days in Helium, and the music on Ex Hex is the best it's been during her solo career, but the lyrics are still lacking for me. It's like she puts little or no effort into writing lyrics. That being said, there are some very Rush-esque moments on Ex Hex and I mean that in a good way.

This one has a lot more Umphh! than her last two, and the melodies and structure just get better and better, but it's best just to tune out the words.

And it is the first album to do so in many, many years! This is refreshing after listening to the harsh, loud rock of Sleater-Kinney's The Woods (which I also like a lot--but not exactly for dancing). I'm confident this will be an all-time favorite of mine that my husband will have to listen to repeatedly in the car--whether he wants to or not.

this is marys best work ever. mary and brian work together brilliantly to bring you this excellent lp. best tracks are 'friend to jc' 'return to pirates' and '9x3'. mary returns to her roots with this one, some songs sounding like a mix between the dirt of luck and mountains. this is a must have for any timony fan, she just absolutley rocls with this release. smart songs with alot of tremelo and hard hitting drums. very helium-esque.

I love all of Mary's work, in Helium and solo-wise. And I actually think I like 'Mountains' more than 'Ex Hex'. But Ex Hex rocks, and the two are very different albums with different styles of music and writing..

Really all I have to say is that out of all the songs on Ex Hex, I find only one OK, but still good - "Harmony". The rest are amazing. Overall, this is an extremely solid album put together by two accomplished musicians.

A refreshingly raw antidote to the Liz Phairs of the scene. When I bought this, the clerks commented that she had made one of the all-time best in-store performances they had ever heard--high praise given that it's the kind of store that features the cream of whomever makes their way towards Southern California. This album is produced superbly by Brendan Canty, and the guitar, even as heard on my tinny car speakers, floored me. It's as if Steve Albini "recorded" this. Docked a star for what's at least a by-now predictable shortcoming of any Helium-solo Timony product. Why? Her often iambic, too-easily rhymed, and faux-naive lyrics often fail to grab me; her singsong style, unchanged since Helium, has not evolved, although her instrumental prowess has.

And the latter, for the first time since "No Guitars" and "Magic City" (both Mitch Easter productions from the waning days of her band) impels me to hear this again. Her welcome return to more aggressive guitar reminds me of Barbara Manning's combination of structured tunecraft and alternative, DIY attitude. Better than "Mountains" or "Golden" simply because Timony and collaborators have taken what sounds like much more time, and hunkered down in perhaps a better studio, to craft this deceptively immediate ambiance on tape--it's as if these are spontaneous, garagey, yet tuneful explosions by your quirky neighbor who's actually able to play--well!