Rainer Maria
“Long Knives Drawn”
Polyvinyl Record Co.
Critical acclaim is not something that has ever really been in short supply for indie-rock outfit Rainer Maria, aptly named after the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. The band also concedes that it could have just as easily been named The Two Star Music Club. Formerly of Wisconsin, now relocated to Brooklyn, the three-piece has just released its fourth full-length album, “Long Knives Drawn,” on Illinois’ Polyvinyl. With this latest album, Rainer Maria has maintained its melancholy romanticism of life, love and relationships, while somewhat altering the delivery.
“Long Knives Drawn,” nine tracks deep, follows on the heels of October’s three-song EP, “Ears Ring.” “Ears Ring,” though short, served as the harbinger for a slightly modified Rainer Maria persona, one with a sharper, more rock-oriented sound that comes off as more confident and polished. However, two of the songs featured on Ears Ring (“Alchemy” and “Automatic”) failed to make it onto “Long Knives Drawn.”
Part of Rainer Maria’s appeal, since its earliest beginnings in 1995, has been its ability, despite being a three-piece, to tap into the darker, somber emotions with a unique and sincere frankness, that often fall to the wayside during the songwriting process. Keeping within this vein, Rainer Maria produced “Long Knives Drawn,” with a few changes. The first of these changes was the presence of bassist and lead vocalist Caithlin De Marrais’ stronger voice without the backing of guitarist Kyle Fischer, on a majority of the tracks. The bonus here is a less dissident sound, which is not bad, just different from what fans of their older material might expect. Also, for the first time, De Marrais was in control of much of the writing for “Long Knives.”
Despite all these changes, Rainer Maria has held onto its characteristic style of intelligent metaphors. However, also present is a hint of the pressure to produce (i.e. that contrived, almost too arty style), but the music is so tight that this can be overlooked. The sentiment, “Let’s get over each other, so that we can fall in love again,” seems very much like the words of a desperate and unrequited lover. The lyrics may very well be suited to that purpose, but it is also possible that the dynamic they describe could be applied to a different type of relationship. Another probable interpretation, which is far less literal, alludes to the sometimes fragile relationship between artists and their fans. This relationship is particularly tenuous when their musical style or format gets a touch-up or overhaul. What about introspection, plain and simple? Perhaps it was just the intelligent forethought of the band to include it and leave it up to the listener to decide.
