Mary Timony has shared new single/video, “The Guest,” a track off her forthcoming album Untame the Tiger, available February 23rd via Merge. Recorded in Baltimore at J. Robbins’ Magpie Cage studio, “The Guest” features David Christian on drums and Brian Betancourt on bass, with Betsy Wright and Dennis Kane singing backup. Mary describes it as a song sung directly to loneliness: “I was imagining loneliness as a house guest who keeps knocking on your door. I thought it would be funny to say loneliness is the only one who always comes back.”

The accompanying video for “The Guest,” made by Mary’s longtime friend and collaborator Brett Vapnek, was filmed around Santa Barbara. “The first video Brett and I made together was in about 1995 for the Helium song ‘Honeycomb,’ and later she also did one for ‘Dr. Cat’ (on The Golden Dove). I also acted in a short movie she made called Dream Machine,” Mary says.

For more than 3 decades, Mary Timony has cut a distinctive path through the world of independent music. Praised by Rolling Stone as one of the “Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” she has built her reputation off of “rewriting the guitar rulebook.” Untame the Tiger marks Timony’s fifth solo album and is a startling document of an artist fully coming into her own power during the fourth decade of her career, the product of lessons learned during life-altering struggle. Although she has remained a cult hero and critical favorite since the early ’90s, appearing everywhere from 120 Minutes episodes to Coachella sets, Timony’s many triumphs have long been counterbalanced by crippling doubt and self-nullification.

The album was recorded during a two-year period during which she was the primary caregiver for her ailing parents. “I started realizing that I gotta control the things that I can,” says Timony, who would write songs while going on mind-clearing walks and bike rides around her native Washington, DC. “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.”

Mary Timony 2024 Tour Dates

Wed. Feb. 28 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar *
Thu. Feb. 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
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 @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe ^
Tue. Mar. 12 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe ^
Wed. Mar. 13 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warhol Entrance Space ^
Thu. Mar. 14 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
Thu. Mar. 21 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest
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

Pre-order Untame the Tiger by Mary Timony HERE