Customer Reviews

Mountains

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

 

 

"Mountains" is an example of self-indulgence producing great results. Oftentimes artists who make names for themselves in iconic underground bands then break out the solo projects do so because they want to explore ideas thaey weren't able to in thier bands, for the simple reason that the ideas are usually lame. But not in Mary Timony's case--this is a beguilingly insular and solipsisitic effort. You come away with a sense of furtively glancing at her journal while she's out of the room, costantly checking to see if she's comeing so you're not caught. "I Fire Myself" especially is almost uncomfortably intimate: who knows what "the mountain of fire/ and the fountain of spit" represent, but it must not be too pleasant. In her use of grandly obfuscated meanings and ornate metaphores, Mary Timony is easily on a par with Tori Amos. Musically, as well: this record finds her moving beyond the thrilling but limited Sonic Youth/Pavement guitar terrorism of Helium into a much more complex musical expressiveness--she reveals sonic textures and tricky arrangements with the offhand genious of that one kid in art class who could casually paint a breathtaking fantasy mural but would rather be throwing spit-balls at the teacher. "The Hour Glass" is a real stunner--John Cale-circa-"Venus in Furs" viola and an arrangement which comes tantalizingly close to opening up into a full-blown psychedelic jam, but Mary, shrewd as ever, knows right when to pull the plug. Great lyrics to: "we are only free at night/ but that is when we sleep" . She even somehow manages to pull off the skippable, annoying in that "I'm following my artistic muse" type of way songs without completely swamping the project--"The Bell", with it's rediculously rote arrangement and pointless coda, and "The Fox and Hound", which is wierd and creepy the first few times but gets old fast. That song's girl-and-her-Fender-Rhodes thing is much better deployed on "1542", a sublime little confection that's just one of the sonic pleasures to be had on this wonderful record (and, to be honest "The Bell" and The Hound and Fox" aren't all that bad, either!)

Mary Timony, leader Helium, is a genius. That was established in her work with Helium (No Guitars,Pirate Prude Ep's up to The Magik City Lp) and is confirmed with her first solo album, Mountains. The albums songs are stripped bare, which allows the lyrics and vocals to take center stage. "13 Bees" from the old 'No Guitars' Ep sounds great and simple(especially with lyrics) and the whole album has a medieval feel to it that recalls both 'No Guitars' and 'The Magic City'. 'Painted Horses',with it's warped guitar and dark lyrics,and '1542' as well as 'Tiger Rising' are standout tracks(depending the mood at the moment) on an album full of dark,sad beauty from an artist that is extremely overlooked.

timony's work is getting more and more like that of a tweaked, brilliant, down-on-herself fourth grader on drugs, like crayon drawings of unicorns and medieval ladies and rainbows and blood and space...

which may not mean much unless you've heard the music but this is the delicious impression i get.

every release of hers ( from helium or solo) heads more in this direction, further from the GREAT but relatively straightforward 'american jean' single (guitar, bass, vocals + drums) and more into space and this bizarre dreamland of ants and roots and rainbows which belongs only to mary. however out there, i feel like i know right where she's coming from. you might, too.

Mary Timony has intrigued from the very begining, when i would see random pictures of her playing clubs in Boston, a PRS strapped across her shoulder.
This was the mid 90's, and her band, Helium, was just starting to make waves on the local level.
When i finally heard Helium's "Pirate Prude" and "Dirt of Luck" records, i was captivated by her breathy vocals & jarring, atmospheric guitar.
Helium's sound evolved considerably with their final release, "The magic city," which to me, opened the door for what would be her musical approach to her first two, brilliant solo albums: Mountains & the Golden Dove.

"Mountains" has to be one of the most melancholy, yet hopeful, albums i have ever had the pleasure of hearing.
Many reviewers get so caught up in the supposed "medeival" aspect of the lyrics, and gloss over the gorgeous vocals & instrumentation.
While Helium was primarily guitar driven, much of "Mountains" incorporates Mary's sparse piano melodies, and many of these songs offer a sort of elusive beauty & nakedness.
"I Fire Myself" remains one of those perfect, isolated moments, where Timony captures a voice all her own.
There is also something about the arrangement in "The Hour Glass", that tugs at your heart, in a very un-sappy way.
For more guitar intensive moments, Mary shines in the prog-jam that ends, "The Bell," and creates one of her finest riffs ever with, "Rider on the stormy sea."

"Mountains" is one of those rare records that affected me in a profound way.
It felt like she was creating these songs in total isolation, revealing more of herself with each song.
This particular album was completely different than what i had expected, yet it connected with me almost instantly.
It felt like it was written just for me, something i'd never experienced before.

The follow-up, "The Golden Dove", was equally impressive & continued in a similar vein.
For me, these two albums really define how incredibly unique & gifted Mary was/is as an artist.
Sadly, they were overlooked & under-promoted by Matador records, and many within her fanbase wanted a return to the harder-edged Helium sound.
In my mind, Mary sort of went backwards in her approach, on the albums that followed, and the music felt somewhat compromised.
I missed what she & Christina Files were doing, on those first two, magical solo releases.

Mary Timony's first solo work on the Matador label following Helium is an "unplugged" but non-the-less interesting CD combining acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, violin, drums, and cool songs. For an alt-punk-rocker, she must have had a little classical music in her background.

One of my favorite CDs of all time! I loved Mary's work with Helium (in all of it's Medieval-Cartoon-Monster glory), but this has a special place it my heart. It's more of an intimate, confessional-type CD. As some other reviewers have noted, it's uncomfortable at times, like you are peaking into her diary with such unrestricted to her personal doubts and fears ("Fire Myself" is a great example, but also check out "The Bell" and "Dungeon Dance").

Not to worry, she didn't lose her weird, indecipherable metaphors and animal imagery. It still sounds like she grew up in a cave raised by unicorns, taking short field trips on a pirate ship to watch the lambs frolick and occasionally make a blood sacrifice. Check out "13 Bees," "Poison Moon", and "Valley of One Thousand Perfumes" for the weirdest stuff. It's still generous with strange percussion, including some clapping; and of course some strange, repetitive melodies. She is always herself, never derivative, often creepy, always brilliant! And in this CD, she's also vulnerable, a side she really hasn't shown as much in her three other solo works. A must!!!

This is by far the coolest Cd I have ever heard. It's most similar to Helium's "The Magic City" and, especially, "No Guitars." But somehow it manages to be even cooler. Hearing the unreleased track, "Aging Astrounauts II" on Matador's Everything is Nice comp., I was not sure what to expect from Mary with this release. (which, unfortunately was released over a month after it was originally supposed to be.) But the world has "Mountains" now and I think It is Mary's best and most accomplished work to date, which is saying QUITE a lot considering her amazing work in Autoclave, Helium, and The Spells. So, get "Mountains" soon because its yr. ticket to "A Trip To The New Underworld." and so very much more.

The ongoing dynamic, changes of Mary's art from Autoclave, through early Helium work in Pirate Prude onto Dirt of Luck and lastly Magic City provide insight into the depth of artistic songwriting prowess, creativity and skill she posesses. If you are looking for mindless ear candy, go elsewhere. If you are looking for something smart and unique; you've found it.

A fine solo effort from Heliums Mary Timony. Not many artists can pull off being whoreish, childish and hobbitish but Mary can. Simple piano, violin and drum machines are nice added touches that don't come off sounding cheesy. Let's hope Ash Bowies solo will be just as worthy.

Like Beck's Mutations, this album seems clearly to be not a major work, but a transition to new musical territory. The arrangements are more earthly, coming down from the soaringly glorious Magic City (through her old band, Helium--a must buy), but the songwriting is still strong. Quiet, playful, visionary, humorous. I'm already looking forward to where her music goes next.