Photo via Facebook / Convert
More blitzkrieg, less bop. That’s the M.O. of Milwaukee hybrid punks Convert, whose much-anticipated new album, Saves, is out today. The band, consisting of veteran local punk musicians, enter the realm of dystopian-sounding electronica, fusing it with punk for a pseudo-industrial sound. If that’s putting it too eloquently, just know that the record is absolutely pulverizing.
While much of the subject matter of the record can feel downright sinister, the actual music of Saves can feel like a cathartic blast of emotion. You would expect a record with this level of liberating release to be crafted in the dark years that made up the beginning of the pandemic, but the process on the record actually began in early 2020, pre-COVID. At that time, Convert was truly developing their sound, and capturing the first forays of the band in the studio with the help of Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Recordings.
“I think everyone agreed that this is our new baby, and let’s try to do things better than we have with all of our other projects” said drummer Ben Davison.
“We spent a lot more time, meticulously recording each piece to match everything, than I would have with a straight up punk band” added bassist Richie Murry. “With Shane, it also felt like he had a lot more invested in it, so everything was dissected quite a bit. Especially with the synth element to it, and there was a lot more to juggle with mixing. We couldn’t do that in the studio with Shane because of Covid, so there was a lot of back and forth over the phone.”
While that mixing process took an extensive amount of time, the end product is certainly worth the trouble, as the record brings about as much impact as you could throw at a speaker. Some songs are certainly rooted in a punk sound (see “Eat The Youth”) but carry extra weight when throwing in the atmospheric synths that darken the whole tone of the track. The material of Saves also arguably gained some extra gravity when juxtaposed into the context of the pandemic, as the world felt bleaker by the time the record was finished than when the initial process began.
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“I think some of the songs were originally faster, because we were just playing it in practice” said Murry. “Once we started recording it, Ben slowed down some of the songs to give them a heavier hitting, darker feel to it, instead of just aggression.”
“There’s a lot more texture to play with” said Davison. “Part of this recording was a huge learning experience for all of us. When you’re not sitting in the studio like ‘this doesn’t work,’ you have to find a lot of space to let everything shine on its own.”
To celebrate the long-awaited unveiling of Saves, Convert are playing a release show Friday night at X-Ray Arcade alongside Rexxx and Guerrilla Ghost. You can also pick up the album on vinyl thanks to a release from Triple Eye Industries, Forge Again Records and Dog & Pony Records.
