Rainer Maria
a better version of me
Polyvinyl

Before anything can be said about the rest of Rainer Maria's new album, it must be stated that the first song, "Artificial Light," is quite possibly the best indie rock song of the year. With its beautiful rapidly strummed-guitar intro (which sounds eerily similar to Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me"), the song quickly shifts into anthemic chorus mode, with bassist Caithlin De Marrais singing "No one defies artificial light" like it's the only thing that ever has and ever will matter. This song approaches the common "soft verse-loud chorus" dynamic from a slightly different perspective; the song's volume is almost entirely consistent throughout, rather, it's the song's intensity that changes drastically every so often to knock you aback. After listening to a song this good, you start to wonder if anything can be much better. Which is exactly this album's main problem. When a band starts a record off with a song so perfect, where is there to go but down?

Which is not to say that the other eight songs off a better version of me certainly don't try to live up to that same level of excellence. However, in a rather unfortunate track decision, the weakest song on the album, "Thought I Was," comes directly after "Artificial Light," making the former's weaknesses and the latter's strengths all the more obvious. Thankfully, this rather poor attempt at a catchy uptempo pop song is quickly forgotten as soon as "Ceremony," the third song, begins its wonderfully midtempo minor-key guitar riff. Quite a bit of the album facilitates this sort of song structure, and people owning previous Rainer Maria albums will certainly notice quite a change in the feel of this album.

Previously, Rainer Maria seemed almost to want to be tagged with the "emo" label. The somber guitars were there. Nearly every song had to do with relationships (most notably, the inevitable failed ones). Guitarist Kyle Fischer would frequently sing along with De Marrais, making it a "you-versus-me" type of record.

This time around, it's a "me-versus-myself" affair. Hardly any songs deal with relationships, specifically. Instead, De Marrais has turned the looking glass inward. Fischer's voice is rarely heard, which isn't a bad thing, as he puts that much more energy into his guitar playing. A great example is "The Seven Sisters," a six-minute song where Fischer's astounding guitar playing almost overshadows De Marrais' yearning vocals entirely. This is still a De Marrais-Fischer record; he's just meeting her halfway on a different route this time.

If you're looking for a record from whiny white kids lamenting the complete hopelessness of ever finding another significant other, please look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a record from a group always maturing, and from a singer looking ever more inward of herself, then step right up. These nine songs of self-realization will occupy a slot in your CD player for weeks. And, if you don't find yourself enjoying the album as a whole, you can always just put the first song on repeat.

— Andrew VanZandt (symm1@hotmail.com)