It’s sad that no one remembers the Blake Babies anymore. The Boston-based trio, which included Juliana Hatfield (yes, that Juliana), put out a bunch of direct-to-college-radio albums and faded out by 1991. The Babies had a shelf life exactly as long as their four-year career—which is too bad, because they crafted solid records and came up with one song I’ll play forever (“Girl in a Box”). But one band has reclaimed the Babies’ fragile-yet-punky sound—Rainer Maria. Named after a poet, too, the Madison, Wis., trio was at first filed under “Emo.” But the band quickly gave up the quiet-loud approach and, on its most recent stuff, the Atlantic EP and Look Now Look Again, opted for more sprawling designs. The sound isn’t exactly original, but it’s still captivating in the way the Babies could be at their best, most vulnerable moments. And unlike Hatfield, the members of Rainer Maria seem determined not to become pinups. The group performs with Mike Kinsella and the Convocation Of… at 8:30 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1831 14th St. NW. $7. (202) 667-7960. (Jason Cherkis)