Shortly after the release of their gloriously homespun 2017 debut album Ignite the Rest, indie rock duo R. Ring began working on material for their follow-up. Kelley Deal and Mike Montgomery collaborated on fragments, again enlisting drummer Laura King, Lori Goldston on cello, and Joe Suer on vibraphone. However the pandemic put these plans on hold. They engaged on other projects, Deal with The Breeders and Protomartyr and Montgomery with his Candyland Recording Studio. Deal and Montgomery revived R. Ring in 2023 and released the album War Poems We Rested.
They now share the video for the track ‘Volunteer‘ edited by Paula Moura. The first 200 copies of the album War Poems We Rested contained a zine with poems, each inspired by a track on the album. The zine was curated by Matt Hart. For ‘Volunteer‘ the poem was “For All This” by Jeremy Michael Clark. He is seen writing in the video, which is also interspersed with moving kaleidoscopic images. The pace of ‘Volunteer’ may be steady with it’s pounding bassline, but the distorted vocal adds a hint of tension. There are snapshots of Deal and Montgomery at work recording the track, and the zine contained illustrations made by Samuel Cormac, which were animated for the video. Overall its a complex picture, thought-provoking and mesmerising.
For more information on R. Ring please check out their facebook and instagram.
