R. Ring
Historian Session
March 26, 2016
R. Ring is Kelley Deal and Mike Montgomery. They’ve been performing as a duo since 2012: two guitars, both acoustic here, and two voices. Drummer Nan Turner joins for this set, and she's excellent, with a light touch, either with mallets or sticks.
Recorded then, but released now, this video performance took place before their album Ignite The Rest was released. That album is wonderful, and most of the songs here are drawn from it. One that isn't is "Head Of The Cult," from the first Kelley Deal 6000 album, Go To The Sugar Altar. It's about a religious cult, and is an atheist anthem, as Christ is a curse here.
The songs from Ignite were more or less in demo form here, and I like them just as much as the finished versions on the album. The song that starts the session is not a full performance, but something of a teaser. "Elder Orphans In Heavy Chop" is about Kelley’s mom, and is very sweet.
The second song, and first full performance, is "Head." Kelley is a great singer and it really shows on this song. It's wry, but happy, not bitter.
The next is an Ampline song, Mike’s band. "You Will Be Buried Here" is the title song of their 2010 album. It’s very folk-like.
The duo isn’t folk per se, but more like experimental, electric folk. The acoustic guitars are amped up. The singing and playing are raw, and the lyrics are mostly self-explanatory.
The fourth is "Cutter," about shame, the kind one feels when they’re sorry about everything and wish none of it had ever happened. The main character gets angry at the cutter in the end, and I like the coda, one drawn out riff.
The fifth is "Fallout and Fire," about Kelley’s dad. Whatever she’s saying here seems profound. The song could be about loneliness, heartache, endless waiting, and the hope, however thin, that everything will be okay when the wait ends, whenever that is.
The last song is another partial performance, "$100 Heat," which seems to be about love and heartache, sung to a bandit.
Let this session be an intro to a wonderful duo. Pick up their album. It's very good, but flew underneath the radar. And go see them live, if you like this session. It’s a wonderful experience.
Andrea Weiss
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