In the past Rainer Maria created romantic tension through dueling male/female vocals; on this record, however, De Marrais takes the lead, delivering yearning sighs and frantic shouts above the raucous instrumentation. Long Knives Drawn cuts deepest on the first three tracks. On the opener, "Mystery and Misery," De Marrais sings, "Oh, you're wicked," as drummer William Kuehn funnels her frustration with desperate, driving beats. With "Ears Ring," Fischer's fitful guitar claws to keep up with head-spinning cymbals, and De Marrais delivers a sharply intuitive chorus: "Strange how the ears ring/ After a night of wrongdoing/ Strange how the arms sting/ When you're left holding nothing." Even weaker numbers, like the melodically repetitive "The Imperatives," offer small touches to sustain the listener's interest -- quavering vocals, powerful drum fills, and well-crafted lyrics. Rainer Maria may sound pseudo-intellectual in theory, but Long Knives Drawn suggests that cerebral rock can offer poetic justice.
