Mary Timony (Helium, Ex Hex, Wild Flag) has announced her fifth solo album, Untame the Tiger, which will be out February 23 via Merge. She produced the album with multi-instrumentalists Joe Wong and Dennis Kane, who both play on it, and it features contributions from Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks, Chad Molter (Faraquet, Medications), Brian Betancourt (Cass McCombs, Devendra Banhart), and more. J Robbins provided additional engineering and Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev) and John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Kurt Vile) mixed the album.
The album was made during a two-year period where Mary was the primary caregiver of her ailing parents. “This was the hardest thing Iʼve been through. Every week I had to manage a new crisis,” Mary says. “Because I was making impossible decisions on behalf of my parents, creative choices now seemed more manageable. Since I had to confront the reality of loss, I realized what was important to me about being alive, and I became less scared. The record became my anchor in a time when I was losing so much around me. It felt like all I had—a guide that helped me through, and gave me hope.”
The first single is “Dominoes,” which Mary notes almost didn’t make the record. “We needed one last song, and I found a demo of it I had forgotten about at the last minute.” Watch the video, directed by M. Wartella, below.
Mary will be on tour in 2024 with Birthday Girl DC, youbet and Rosali opening at various points along the way. The NYC show is at Bowery Ballroom on March 1 with Birthday Girl DC. Tickets for all dates go on sale Friday, November 10 at 10 AM and you can check out the tour schedule below.
Untame the Tiger:
1. No Thirds
2. Summer
3. Dominoes
4. Looking for the Sun
5. The Guest
6. Donʼt Disappear
7. The Dream
8. Untame the Tiger
9. Not the Only One
Mary Timony 2024 Tour Dates:
Wed. Feb. 28 – Baltimore MD @ Ottobar *
Thu. Feb. 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendaʼs *
Fri. Mar. 1 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
Sat. Mar. 2 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom *
Sun. Mar. 3 – Amherst, MA @ The Drake ^
Tue. Mar. 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern ^
Wed. Mar. 6 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle ^
Fri. Mar. 8 – Cudahy, WI @ X-Ray Arcade ^
Sat. Mar. 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry ^
Mon. Mar. 11 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bellʼs Eccentric Cafe ^
Wed. Mar. 13 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warhol Entrance Space ^
Thu. Mar. 14 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
Sat. Mar. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Clock-Out Lounge %
Sun. Mar. 24 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios %
Tue. Mar. 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop %
Wed. Mar. 27 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium %
Thu. Mar. 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room %
Fri. Mar. 29 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah %
Sat. Mar. 30 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room %
* w/ Birthday Girl DC
^ w/ Youbet
% w/ Rosali