To celebrate a decade of existence, Matador Records released a three-disc compilation chronicling the history of the label and its many acts. Among them was Helium, at one point all but destined to take the alt-rock world by storm with their crunchy blend of fuzzed-out guitars and the vaguely Liz Phair-ish attitude and credentials of lead singer Mary Timony. Even when the band took a turn for the medieval on 1997’s The Magic City, Helium remained the critics’ darling. And then they went on hiatus, one that has become permanent in all but name.

But the story wasn’t over yet, Matador seemed to be saying! Mary Timony would put out her own solo material, and to prove it, we’re going to put her first song on our marquee compilation and have her play our anniversary shows in New York! All fine, except that the Mary Timony song was a low-key rehash of Helium’s “Aging Astronauts.” And then there was the show itself. Timony had performed solo before, but this was, in a very real sense, her real introduction. “Pirate,” then, was the first Mary Timony song most people heard. And it was pretty good—but not great, and not what we’d come to expect from Helium.

Timony could’ve been forgiven for trawling ever darker and gothic soundscapes for her new material; if anything, it was one logical extension of the stylistic turn Helium had started with No Guitars. But Timony’s new material seemed to lack the spark that made Helium’s early material so compelling. Furthermore, her live reputation was never that great—she’s no Chan Marshall, but Timony had some stage fright issues of her own. The Matador shows saw her play mostly to her drummer as opposed to the ground, and she spent most of the time staring at her feet. If she hadn’t already played a number of successful tours with Helium you’d think she was a shrinking violet completely unsuited to the rigours of a live performance. In that light, Timony’s NYC performance was acceptable—but just barely so.