Grunion Records is excited to announce that Rainer Maria will be joining The Format on tour, in support of their current album, “Catastrophe Keeps Us Together”, which The New York Times called “Glorious…their most exuberant, most youthful-sounding album.” The 36-date tour (which includes a performance at Lollapalooza) will kickoff at Phoenix’s Celebrity Theatre on July 14th, and will end September 1st at San Diego’s Soma Side Stage.
“Catastrophe”, the fifth studio album from this Midwestern-turned-New York 3-piece, is a startling leap forward, as vocalist/ bassist Caithlin De Marrais, guitarist Kyle Fischer and drummer William Kuehn were able to take their time writing and recording the music after extensive touring in 2003. Brimming with tightly structured songs, deep atmosphere and contagious melodies, “Catastrophe” shows Rainer Maria maturing and challenging themselves as they focus their expression without losing the signature edge that has gained them a huge following over the years. The Grammy Award-winning Malcolm Burn, who has worked with the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop and Emmylou Harris, produced all but the two songs that were produced by Peter Katis (Interpol, Tiger Lou).
Since its April release, “Catastrophe Keeps Us Together” has been receiving great praise from the press. Paste wrote, “brightly chiming and tensely foreboding in equal measure, [Rainer Maria] has never sounded more poised for a breakthrough than it does on ‘Catastrophe Keeps Us Together’,” while Performing Songwriter called “Catastrophe” “their most evolved record” and added that it “rocks without trying too hard. It’s intelligent without being pompous, and light on its feet without being lightweight.” Bust called the album “mature, self-aware, and delicious” and Teen Vogue declared that “Caithlin De Marrais waxes poetic on the trials of love with gorgeous conviction.”
Rainer Maria also just released a video for first single “Catastrophe”. The band worked with David Ahuja, who has directed several of Rainer’s past videos, as well as director Clare Carre’, who most recently worked with Antony and the Johnsons.
Rainer Maria’s dates with The Format are as follows:
July 14: Phoenix, AZ: Celebrity Theatre
July 15: Tucson, AZ: Rialto Theatre
July 16: Flagstaff, AZ: The Orpheum
July 18: Dallas, TX: Gypsy Ballroom
July 19: San Antonio, TX: White Rabbit
July 20: Houston, TX: Numbers
July 21: Austin, TX: The Parish
July 22: Little Rock, AR: Juantias
July 23: Nashville, TN: Exit/In
July 25: St. Petersburg, FL: State Theatre
July 26: Ft. Lauderdale, FL: The Culture Room
July 27: Lake Buena Vista, FL: House of Blues
July 28: Jacksonville, FL: Fuel Coffeehouse
August 5: Chicago, IL: Lollapalooza (not with The Format)
August 6: Rochester, NY: Water St. Music Hall
August 8: S. Burlington, VT: Higher Ground
August 9: Providence, RI: The Living Room
August 10: Boston, MA: Axis
August 11: Hartford, CT: Webster Theatre
August 12: New York, NY: Irving Plaza
August 13: Asbury Park, NJ: Stone Pony
August 15: Philadelphia, PA: Theatre of Living Arts
August 16: Cleveland, OH: Agora Ballroom
August 17: Detroit, MI: St Andrews Hall
August 18: Chicago, IL: Metro
August 19: St. Louis, MO: Mississippi Nights
August 20: Oklahoma City, OK: Diamond Ballroom
August 22: Denver, CO: Cervantes
August 23: Salt Lake City, UT: In The Venue
August 25: Seattle, WA: El Corazon
August 26: Portland, OR: Loveland
August 27: Orangevale, CA: Boardwalk
August 28: San Francisco, CA: Slims
August 29: Anaheim, CA: House of Blues
August 31: Los Angeles, CA: Avalon
September 1: San Diego, CA: Soma Side
