Rainer Maria has been making music since the mid 90's, and is one of the few bands that is actually still together (even if they have moved from Madison to Brooklyn) from the glory days of the Midwestern emo scene. Seeing them perform new material at Lollapalooza was all I needed to make me go get a copy of their latest album Catastrophe Keeps Us Together.
The songs on Catastrophe are more streamlined and more tightly focused than much of the band's recent work. And (surprisingly) they seem to have shaken off some of the indie-rock dust that covered up their last few records and have ended up sounding energetic and almost youthful. They sound like a band with a smile on their collective face even when things look their bleakest. Everything aside, I really really like this new album of theirs.
Caithlin De Marrais' vocals are smooth and powerful and (without much from guitarist Kyle Fischer) end up as a focal point of the album. There are no shortage of great melodies on the album, which (at times) almost reminds me of an amped-up Rilo Kiley. As much as I miss the Caithlin/Kyle tension, it works. While some may criticize the band as being less adventurous and sounding more radio-ready than ever before, don't be so quick to judge. Catastrophe is a big and sprawling album on which the band (for better or worse) returns to some of their emo-rock roots. The songs are hopeful, urgent pleadings for times in which we really need some.
MP3 | Rainer Maria - Catastrophe Catastrophe Keeps Us Together
MP3 | Rainer Maria - Burn Catastrophe Keeps Us Together
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