The decade-plus wait is over: stream Rainer Maria’s new S/T album via NPR now

Hey, Rainer Maria fans: your eleven year wait comes to a close today. Though the band’s new heftily anticipated, self-titled album won’t be officially released until August 18th via Polyvinyl Records, NPR has secured an early listen for you — you can stream the album in full here.

S/T is able to keep the raw intensity of Rainer Maria’s earlier works, while also carving out enough space for growth. As example, personal favorite track “Suicide and Lazy Eyes” is a fuzzed-out, non-stop live wire of sound and energy, with “Lower Worlds” slowing it down but remaining just as heavy with a buildup to cathartic, muffled shouts.

Track “Forest Mattress” then blends up a balance of the weird and the catchy, as twisted, trippy guitars drone on to Caithlin De Marrais’s eerie vocals, while the chorus evens out the wonderful strangeness by taking the tune on a fun, poppy turn.

“Blackbird” then shouts back to the 90s in cool, chill whispers, while final song, “Hellebore” inches along in darkness amidst an all-encompassing heavy atmosphere — until sending the album out on a lighter wavelength.

Don’t miss the touring return of Rainer Maria at their September 29th Underground Arts show. Find more info on the show here, and listen to their throwback track “Tinfoil” below.