Ringer
Presents for the Present (Animatronic) The nerdy yet mellifluous pop-punk strains of Ringer make a fine soundtrack for young love gone awry. The local quartet’s debut disc plays much like a 10-chapter novella detailing the rise and fall of empty relationships in the voice of every male who bears too much heartfelt longing for his own good. “Looker” starts us off in a suburban park after dark, where vocalist/guitarist Craig Montoro attempts wink-and-nod braggadocio before admitting, “I’ll kiss her on the cheek, and just like the first time, my knees go weak.” By the time “Palooka” rolls around, raging endorphins compel a sinister turn toward unseemly passive/aggressive madness. “Now it’s a contest to see who can make the other one double over in pain,” Montoro sings, “but that’s alright ’cause that’s my kind of fight.” “Nicety” attempts self-esteem damage control by casting the protagonist as an earnest geek fighting quixotically against the world at large to retain a modicum of dignity, while “Monday” captures the fleeting high of breaking free of a bad romance. “Still” kills that buzz once and for all with a sparse, wounded vocal accompanied only by acoustic guitar. Perhaps the boys in Ringer are a bit wrapped up in the razor wire of inner emotion, but their sense of lyrical wit and musical concision keeps them from veering too far off-course into Pity City. If you’re in need of rebound catharsis, Presents for the Present is a rockingly viable alternative to group therapy. 
This article appears in November 16 • 2001.
