From the bombastic, gorgeous opening cut "Mystery and Misery" to its funereal closing track, "Long Knives Drawn" is comprised of nine incendiary performances that hardly pause for breath. While so many of their contemporaries have turned in limpid, mid-tempo third or fourth efforts as they find themselves playing to a broader audience, Rainer Maria have taken the opposite tack, delivering a fearless and ferocious rock album.

CD $13.99

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After postponing this record for three months to continue revision, Rainer Maria emerge clutching the masterwork of the postpunk literati: "A Better Version of Me." Singer Caithlin De Marrais sounds positively remade. Viscerally affecting, but not eviscerated -- listen to "Hell and High Water." Check the high notes on "Thought I Was." Her bass playing is adroit and smooth, and on tracks like "Atropine," triplets well up from the bottom octave. Guitarist Kyle Fischer has torn apart and tweaked out every piec   [ read more ]

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Rainer Maria's Ears Ring is a three-song EP, recorded in the same sessions as their upcoming fourth album. You'd imagine a voice this big couldn't fit inside a person or on a record. You'd think drumming this combustible would be illegal to ship across state lines. You'd assume guitar playing this elastic would snap, and the loose end of it might put your eye out. This is rock music at its most dangerous at a time when it could once again be effective. Simply put, a burst of glory and fury like findi   [ read more ]

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Rainer Maria's Look Now Look Again could quite possibly be the last great album from the now tired emo rock scene. Using the loud-soft dynamics of emo and the catchy playfulness of indie pop proves to be a delicious combination, and Rainer Maria pull it off with grace and intelligence. Sometimes sentimental, but never too sappy, Look Now Look Again showcases the band's strongest attributes: boy-girl vocal dueling, stripped down production to reveal the core emotion of a song, and the melodic and furious att   [ read more ]

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This double CD/DVD set includes live, digitally remastered audio tracks collected over the past four years, as well as footage from their March 2003 show in Chapel Hill, NC (a concert which was part of the landmark Polyvinyl 2003 Winter Tour that saw Rainer Maria co-headlining with Mates Of State, Owen, and Saturday Looks Good To Me). With over two-and-a-half hours of material, this release is sure to delight old and new fans alike.

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The EP was recorded at Pachyderm Studio with producer Mark Haines just a few days before the band's move to New York. The three songs showcase Rainer Maria at their most intimate, opening with grinding, angular guitar and Pachyderm's patented open drum sound. The music slams into soft focus on "Atlantic" and makes as if to recede, then blooms in a bittersweet ending. Wipe the slate clean; clear the tabula rasa. Listen to it three times and it could be an album. For a minute, anything seems possible. Reco   [ read more ]

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Rainer Maria takes a unique approach to traditional emocore on Past Worn Searching, building their frenetic songs from a groundwork of delicate guitars and lovely male/female duet vocals. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

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