She’s an indie-rock original with formal training in jazz and classical. On Untame the Tiger, Mary Timony shows the full range of her guitar talents.
BY TOM BEAUJOUR
ALTHOUGH MANY GENRES — metal, jazz and classical, to name a few — embrace the fluidity and erudition of the guitarists who top their respective fields, punk and indie rock have always had an uneasy relationship with formal training and technical mastery. Isn’t it easier to break the rules if you don’t know them in the first place? Can authenticity, innocence and raw emotion survive in a player who spends too much time in the woodshed? In short, can you be cool and go to school?
For Mary Timony, studying jazz and classical guitar in a specialized high-school program and college provided her with the ability to make artistic decisions with an intent unfettered by limitations. It’s a talent the Washington, D.C., native has exercised since the early ’90s while blazing a fiercely original path as a solo artist and in bands like Autoclave, Helium, Wild Flag and Ex Hex. As a result, when Timony embraces indie-rock tropes, like a predilection for Fender Jazzmasters and alternate tunings, it’s by choice, not default. As her many fans will agree, it’s no wonder she was ranked in the top 100 of Rolling Stone’s recent “250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” list.
Untame the Tiger (Merge Records), Timony’s first solo album in more than a decade and a half, was recorded during a challenging period for the guitarist. “Both of my parents got sick, and I was caretaking,” she says. “My dad got dementia, my mom got cancer, so I was the primary caregiver for both of them. And a long-term relationship had ended right before that, so suddenly my life just was very different and really stressful.”
Despite what could seem like insurmountable challenges, the full breadth of Timony’s musical, vocal and disarming lyrical skills are on display on Untame the Tiger. From the expansive, orchestrated guitar workout of the album opener “No Thirds” to the propulsive new wave of “Dominoes” and the crunchy baroque riffery of “Summer,” there’s no lack of inspired playing, but never to the detriment of the songs themselves. “I love guitar,” says Timony, who teaches the instrument as well. “But I’ve always thought of it as my blueprint for what the song is, rather than thinking about what I’m doing on the instrument. Songs and lyrics are way more important to me.”
Let’s start at the beginn
