Madison, Wisconsin emo trio Rainer Maria emerged in 1995 from the ashes of another poetically inclined local combo, Ezra Pound, reuniting singer/guitarist Kaia Fischer and drummer William Kuehn. Enlisting singer/bassist Caithlin De Marrais, within six weeks Rainer Maria recorded their first demo cassette, quickly selling out all 350 copies. Following a handful of compilation appearances, the group resurfaced in 1996 with a self-titled EP on Polyvinyl; the single "New York: 1955" appeared in early 1997, heralding a shift toward the more subtle melodicism of the full-length Past...