Ex Hex - Rips

Ex Hex

Rips

7 October 2014

Merge

4 stars out of 5

Indie guitar legend Mary Timony has a new band, Ex Hex, named after her 2006 album, Ex Hex, when her band was called the Mary Timony Band, named after herself, Mary Timony, the indie guitar legend. Rips is probably the most straight-forward thing she's ever done, and this straight-forwardness is even more surprising when one considers that this is the same woman who is associated with such ornate, baroque pieces as “Riddle of the Chamberlain.” Rips is far more like Cheap Trick than it is Helium; it has far more in common with The Cars than it does with The Golden Dove. But can she pull it off? Does one of indie rock's most eclectic songwriters know how to truly rock out like it's 1979?

 

Hellz yeah, motherfuckers. Timony may have simplified her compositions, but she definitely has not dumbed anything down. “Radio On” may be the kind of primal power pop you'd find on a record by The Records, but it's still pumped full of Timony's trademark PhD-in-philosophy brains and wit. “New Kid” is an urgent rocker reminiscent of The Nerves' “Hanging on the Telephone” (yes, covered by Blondie a couple of years later). Much of Rips is in this '70s power pop vein, but nowhere does it feel stale or derivative. Timony injects the vitality of her timonyness into every last corner of her songs. Her solos rock without wanking; her lyrics are intellectual without being tedious. It's next to impossible to find any flaws on this record, whether in conception or in execution. So throw away your preconceptions and just enjoy Timony's party record. She might be in her 40s now, but Rips sees her at her most carefree and fun-loving. If you take issue with Timony cutting loose and having a good time, that's your problem.

reviewed by Richard Krueger