RAINER MARIA
A Better Version Of Me
Self Released
www.rainermaria.com

Madison-bred, New York City transplants Rainer Maria explode with psychological fury and clattering glory on their new, "A Better Version of Me."  Recorded at Smart Studios, "Version," conjures teenage hormones, stark melodies and the throbbing pulse of crafted tunes played with earnest abandon.  The trio's guitar inflected turmoil churns against the strained but sweet voice of bassist Cathlain De Marrais, whose strong, deliberate incantations swoon with concrete images and modern idioms. While wading through thick noise and complicated lives, Rainer Maria pounces beautifully, stealthily creeping to unannounced outbursts of hidden confession.  Concocting cathartic battle cries in stomps and waltzes, chomping at the bit with the amped-up strings and restless drums of Kyle Fischer and William Kuehn, "Better," serves up revealing self-interrogations of an analyzing mind.

John Noyd