If there’s one thing to be said about Rainer Maria in 2017 it’s that they can now be regarded as one of the most consistent indie-rock bands of the last couple of decades. In their pomp they held the simple belief – correctly in hindsight – that you could release a record every couple of years, tour it ruthlessly and gain a steady, passionate following.
Polyvinyl Records also had an uncanny knack of picking up on some amazing artists during that same period (say hi to Mates of State, Aloha, Asobi Seksu) and Rainer Maria fitted the bill perfectly. Their crunchy guitars and an accomplished backline were coupled with singalong choruses and records that ran to precisely nine songs. The phrase all killer, no filler might have been coined for these guys.
Despite being on hiatus (from a recording perspective at least) for the past 11 years, the consistency remains as Rainer Maria serve up another sonic nonet with ‘S/T’.
The ‘musical differences’ that caused them to part ways don’t seem to have stopped them producing more of the same a decade on. And that is definitely no bad thing.
Opener Broke Open Love doesn’t exactly carry on where they left off, though. The musicianship and songwriting here is more akin to their 2003 outing ‘Long Knives Drawn’ (their most recent on Polyvinyl) than their last record ‘Catastrophe Keeps Us Together’, which went largely (and sadly) unnoticed thanks to an off-kilter change in label and direction.
Caithlin De Marrais’s vocals are a little more muted here, giving way to heavily distorted guitars and a dreamy rollercoaster of a bassline. Her voice is brought up a little for the simple-but-effective stomp of Suicides and Lazy Eyes, while some tried and tested backing from Kaia Fischer in the chorus harks back to the Rainer Maria of old. This is good stuff.
What would initially appear to be a mid-album lull (Blackbird, Posessesion) is just a tease of a Rainer Maria record’s longevity. Repeated listening shows these songs to be a couple of the standouts here and the latter displays just how kick-ass De Marrais is in full flow. The heavy riff is no match for her booming voice.
The only issue with releasing a nine track record is that you don’t really want a dud gatecrashing an otherwise stellar line-up. Sadly, the closer, Hellebore, isn’t up to the high standard set by the rest of the album. It’s merely a five minute trudge that fails to build. Speaking more generally, it’s also a shame that Fischer’s vocal involvement is restricted to backing once again.
But, despite these (very minor) faults, ‘S/T’ is a soaring return and enough to ignite the hope that Rainer Maria might soon opt to get back to crazy touring schedules and credible biannual records for the next 10 years.
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