Intimacy is the art unique to the musical trio. Named after the famous German poet, R.M. Rilke, Rainer Maria consists of a couple plus one other guy. Arguably emo, Rainer Maria makes songs about emotions not yet given names by whoever the hell invents names for those kind of things. On “Hell and High Water” Caithlin De Marrais sings about being in that transitory phase where she can see the better version of herself she will soon become.

"You begin like a lion and end like a lamb," De Marrais sings in "Ceremony," but unlike that lyric this band has grown from its past releases like a lamb into a stalking lion. It is a confounding and yet simple album, with De Marrais’ sweetly patient voice blended with Sonic Youth guitar and ride-heavy drums. Words like "anathema" and "disseminate" are tossed in without care as to whether their audience will understand them or not; no doubt college nerds like me are this band’s demographic audience.

Quick joke: How many emo kids does it take to screw in a light bulb? Five – one to screw it in, one to cry about it, and three to make a band and write songs about how "no one defies artificial light." Bad joke, good album.
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