Rainer Maria: A Better Version Of Me

During its formative years in Wisconsin, the New York trio Rainer Maria began to nurture a richly deserved national following, but its music was mostly compelling as a result of sheer, furious, unselfconscious sincerity. Built around walls of overdriven guitars and boy-girl emoting (often off-key) by Caithlin De Marrais and Kyle Fischer, each song seemed to subsist on nerve and will alone. The band has never made a record that isn't worth hearing, and A Better Version Of Me fleshes out its sound nicely, marrying Rainer Maria's drama and pathos to clanging, chiming hooks and its glossiest production work yet (courtesy of Mark Haines). Named for the poet Rainer Maria Rilke and given to wordy phrasing—"Why is this technology an anathema to me," De Marrais sings on "Artificial Light"—Rainer Maria is simultaneously ham-handed, complex, and accessible, most notably on the audaciously literal "The Contents Of Lincoln's Pockets." ("Two pairs of spectacles, a lens polisher, a pocket knife…") But the boldest advance on A Better Version Of Me is De Marrais' and Fischer's vocal evolution: They're harmonizing where they used to clash wildly. The result is an impressively polished, emotionally engaging rock record that doesn't stray from the confessional intensity at the root of Rainer Maria's sound. (Polyvinyl Record Co., P.O. Box 1885, Danville, IL 61834)