Mountains (Mary Timony album)

Mountains
Studio album by
Mary Timony
Released2000
GenreIndie rock
LabelMatador[1]
Mary Timony chronology
Mountains
(2000) 		The Golden Dove
(2002)

Mountains is the debut solo album by the American indie rock musician Mary Timony, released in 2000.[2][3]

Production

Timony played all of the instruments on the album, aside from the drums.[4] Mountains was recorded in Boston and mixed in Chicago.[5] It was Timony's intention to make a more acoustic album, after the dissolution of Helium.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB[8]
Pitchfork4.7/10[9]
The Tampa Tribune[10]
The Times7/10[11]

Entertainment Weekly thought that Timony's "unerring instincts—a well-placed guitar strum here, an off-key phrase there—make this determinedly lo-fi effort an easy climb."[8] The Washington Post called the album "a well-realized, cleverly updated example of the rock-and-runes genre."[12] The Times instructed: "Imagine a stripped-back, very simplistic musical cross between the sword'n'sorcery imagery of early Black Sabbath and the baroque, layered vocal pop of Miranda Sex Garden."[11]

The Chicago Tribune determined that "Timony makes disturbingly beautiful music for lapsed Gentle Giant fans and anti-Lilith singer-songwriters alike."[13] The Tampa Tribune stated that Timony "retains the complex song structures and kooky Tolkein-esque medieval imagery but seriously narrows her sonic palette."[10] Jim DeRogatis, of the Chicago Sun-Times, included the album on his 2000 top 10 list.[14]

AllMusic wrote that "these songs are filled with enough death, poison, fire, insanity, and demons for any prog or metal epic, but it's their insular mood that makes them so haunting, especially when compared to Helium's fiery manifestos."[7]

Track listing

  1. "Dungeon Dance"
  2. "Poison Moon"
  3. "I Fire Myself"
  4. "The Bell"
  5. "Painted Horses"
  6. "The Hour Glass"
  7. "13 Bees"
  8. "The Golden Fruit"
  9. "Whisper from the Tree"
  10. "1542"
  11. "Valley of One Thousand Perfumes"
  12. "Tiger Rising"
  13. "An-Deluzion"
  14. "The Fox and Hound"
  15. "Rider on the Stormy Sea"

References

  1. ^ Bauer, Carlene (Mar 6, 2000). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 61, no. 656. p. 28.
  2. ^ "Mary Timony Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Baker, Brian. "Mary Timony". Cleveland Scene.
  4. ^ Milano, Brett (May 2000). "Mountains". Stereo Review. Vol. 65, no. 4. p. 126.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Jim (11 May 2000). "SINGER FINDS NEW ELEMENT". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 9.
  6. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (April 28, 2000). "Following 1997's hypnotizing and ridiculously underrated ...". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 5.
  7. ^ a b "Mountains". AllMusic.
  8. ^ a b "Mountains". Entertainment Weekly.
  9. ^ "Mary Timony: Mountains". Pitchfork.
  10. ^ a b Johnson, Rommie (April 14, 2000). "SPIN THIS". FRIDAY EXTRA!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 19.
  11. ^ a b True, Everett (September 2, 2000). "New albums - Music". Features. The Times. p. 9.
  12. ^ Jenkins, Mark (12 May 2000). "MARY TIMONY 'Mountains'". The Washington Post. p. WW9.
  13. ^ Kot, Greg (14 Jan 2001). "Recordings". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.3.
  14. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (December 31, 2000). "Best rock goes beyond bucks - Commercial-free bands created artistic triumphs". Showcase. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 13.