ary Timony has been away for a long time. Sure, the former leader of Helium has had some releases since her band put out their last recording in 1997. But it seemed as if Ms. Timony had gotten lost down some Dungeons & Dragons hole (nowhere near as interesting as Alice's rabbit hole) sometime around 1999. Artists should always be encouraged to branch out and redefine themselves, but sometimes those experiments go awry. For her fans, Mary Timony's two solo records were exercises in maintaining loyalty—their weirdness was annoying and, in the end, the overall effect was boredom. And it's not as if Helium themselves weren't an odd band to begin with; Timony just pushed the envelope until she dropped off the edge. Everything became metaphor, leaving no room for personal detail to connect with, and no story to lose yourself in either.

Ex Hex, on the poppy-punk label Lookout!, is a return to form. Timony fills in the spaces (literally) with lengthy guitar and keyboard jams, sounding like a cross between Sonic Youth, Yes, and The Who. It's those filled spaces that seem to keep her in check and make for an intriguing record. Ex Hex is dense and claustrophobic, in a good way. Over eleven songs, Timony never lets up, spewing forth lyrically and musically. "It's people like you / With a serpent's tongue / That poison everyone / An eye for an eye, a tooth for my youth / Goodbye for a goodbye" she sings on "Hard Times are Hard!" The subject matter seems to veer between two subjects: finger-pointing and admissions of found strength. None of it sounds bitter, however. Timony sounds like a grown, somewhat odd woman who is working her way through a tough time period.

Indie-rock anthems are what Mary Timony does best, from her earliest days as a working musician. Ex Hex proves her expertise in this arena. Robert Pollard may be worshipping at the altar of Pete Townsend for over a decade now, but I dare say that Timony is a severe rival for him with this latest release. But unlike Pollard, she refuses to streamline, which gives her an advantage in the realm of epic songs. Her guitar playing is excellent throughout, and always emotional. Devin O'Campo's drums and bass add just the right fills. They are slightly sloppy, where feeling wins out over absolute precision, making for a better CD.

Ex Hex does have some problems, but they are minor in comparison to the thrill of hearing Timony rock out again. The sequencing is fairly terrible. What could have been a compulsive listen from first note to last instead plays out as a collection of very good songs. And Ex Hex is not the step forward that should be happening this far into Timony's recorded career (let's not forget her early work in Autoclave). But, two steps forward, one step back. Or, in this case, two steps back and one step forward. Fans should take it. Mary Timony has released a solid record to entice the deserters back to the fold, and it is one that should bring her quite a few new fans, as well.