Is the title a response to Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart?" That's the most interesting question posed by Catastrophe Keeps Us Together, a solidly constructed modern rock album with everything going for it except intrigue.

Sounding a lot like Jimmy Eat World, Rainer Maria's most notable aspect is singer and Molly Ringwald look-alike Caithlin De Marrais. Her voice, mixed so loud it overwhelms everything else, is clean and powerful. It's appealing, in a bland sort of way. Think a less quirky Jenny Lewis.

That's not to say they sound like Rilo Kiley. There's no folk here. This is Rock 'n' Roll with capital Rs: lots of cymbals, hard rock riffs, and soaring choruses. The energizing "Life Of Leisure" is one of those songs where the verses exist not for their own sake, but only as breaks to build anticipation for the inevitable "kick-ass" chorus.

Most of the rest of the record follows in the power-pop tradition, with layered, well-produced, tightly-structured melodic songs about relationships. The lyrics are just vague enough that anyone can identify with the themes.

None of the album is really that terrible. But there's an uncomfortable stateliness hanging over the proceedings, like a cloud that's drifted over from Squaresville. Where's the fun? Where's the spontaneity?

"I'll Make You Mine" is the best original track because it chops away the phony atmospherics, letting the band cut loose with twitchy drumming, shreddy guitar and strained singing from De Marrais that doesn't dominate quite as much as elsewhere. These are potentially exciting musicians with an overdeveloped sense of restraint.

Depressingly, the best song here is the sole cover, a spacey rendition of Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine" which closes out the album and sounds a lot like how you might expect Yo La Tengo to play it.

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