Helium
Ends With And
MATADOR
7/10
Helium were a force in the mid-’90s. And they were led by Mary Timony, who fit the alt-’90s mold on the one hand—subdued and unassuming, predisposed to loud-and-soft musical dynamics—yet was a distinctly imaginative songwriter. Her ornery-sounding distorted guitar belied her penchant for fantastical musings about unicorns and dragons (as best reflected on Helium’s last release, 1997’s The Magic City).
Now, in an era in which a band like Helium would’ve had even broader appeal, Matador is ensuring their legacy with reissues of The Magic City and its predecessor, The Dirt of Luck, along with this odds-and-sods collection, Ends With And. The first four tracks, from 1994’s Pirate Prude EP, are instantly recognizable to anyone who saw them live in their original run. They serve as a reminder that Helium were strong enough to stand on their own before Polvo guitarist Ash Bowie joined the fold following the EP’s release to play bass.
But then comes “Termite Tree,” a rare 7” cut that burns slowly at first before bursting into one of the band’s catchiest and poppiest forays. That and the song that follows, “Hole in the Ground”—with the piercing lyric “Your head is big but your boyfriend says it hasn’t grown”—reveal there was even more treasure locked away in Helium’s vault.
It’s refreshing to revisit Timony’s obsession with escapism on “Magic Box,” “The Dragon #1,” and “Fantastic Castle,” all vivid examples of ’90s indie-rock that didn’t revolve around pessimism. The demo of “Superball” is even more eye-opening; it’s weirder and more experimental than the studio version of what was arguably Helium’s best-regarded song. Demos of “Leon’s Space Song” and “Golden Bridge,” meanwhile, are harmless tufts that only diehard Helium heads will appreciate.
Still, this rich release serves a dual purpose: It replenishes the coffers of completists whose cassette collections have crumbled, and it provides a wide-ranging primer for curious newcomers.
