The Mary Timony Band

Two songs on The Shapes We Make show the influence moving back to Washington, D.C., has had on Mary Timony's writing. The spritely "Sharpshooter" — as close as the ex-Helium frontwoman gets to out-and-out indie-pop these days — sees wildlife turning the tables on trigger-happy hunters ("Ted Nugent, hey whatcha gonna do?/Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"); the less linear "Pause/Off" warns the sitting Supreme Court to keep its grubby paws off Roe vs. Wade. Sonically, Shapes is a sequel to 2005's Ex Hex,a lively tug-o-war between Timony's long-running default modes: sweet modal Ren Faire rock and synthed-up prog. Molded with collaborators bassist Chad Molter and drummer/producer Devin Ocampo — who now belong to a band proper as opposed to assisting in the realizing of a solo vision — Timony's latest batch of tunes wax and wane between intimately serious and sassily anthemic. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference.