Convert

convert [noun känˌvərt]
a person who has been persuaded to change their religious faith or other beliefs.

We’ve heard it dozens of times before-a band is ahead of their time, so ahead in fact, that they spend the majority of their career struggling to be understood. The public catches on eventually, years or decades later, and if they’re fortunate, the band is able to enjoy their new found success.

What we hear about considerably less, though, is an adventurous new act who happens to exist at the same time that the world is ready to accept them. Such is the case with Convert, the Milwaukee five-piece featuring former and current members of Burning Sons, Get Rad, Assault & Battery and Cry Coyote.

While most of the aforementioned acts fit more squarely into a single descriptor, Convert blurs the lines of a variety of styles, combining elements of post punk, goth rock and electronic music into something that not only sounds fresh, but also incredibly current. Singer Dillon Hallen, bassist Richie Murry, guitarist Sam Sharkey and drummer Ben Davison have spent time playing in a variety of different punk-adjacent acts over the last decade plus, but with the project that would eventually become Convert, its members wanted to venture into territory that they had yet to explore.

“Sam called me out of the blue and was interested in starting a band” says singer Dillon Hallen. “I was receptive and we talked about a lot of the same things-stuff like Killing Joke, Magazine, Joy Division… post-punk but with a goth sort of focus. I started thinking about other people I knew who would be a good fit, and I asked Richie and Ben. It was just us four”

“I always wanted to be in a band that had keyboards” says bassist Richie Murry. “It came up as an idea and I was totally into it”

“Yeah, it was difficult to find a synth player, and we didn’t really know anyone who could do it” adds Hallen.

Finding the right person to handle electronics proved to be a challenge. The band eventually recruited Tyler St Clair, known for creating electronic compositions under an array of monikers, as well as running the Radiograffiti label. St Clair joined after the band had begun working on their first batch of songs. Over time, they were able to both incorporate him into their existing tracks as well as working on new ones together as a group. (Since the album’s completion, St. Clair has left Convert for other creative pursuits, with Mick Cleary taking his place)

After a handful of shows throughout 2019, Convert began work on their debut full length Saves, which will see a release this spring via Triple Eye Industries, Forge Again Records and Dog and Pony Records. With past projects, recordings were always done expediently over a short span of time, but the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 meant that both the tracking and recording of the album would be conducted quite differently. Working with engineer Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Studios, the band worked throughout 2020 to complete the album despite the many obstacles of Covid-19.

“We weren’t in the same room for a lot of the second half, which was challenging,” says Hallen. “Mixing was done completely remote, so it was done with songs being sent through email, and us sending mix notes back and forth until we got them sounding right”.

Despite the complications in workflow, the band was pleased with their experience in working with Hochstetler.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with him in the past, and this time was great too” says Murry. “He was definitely interested in the music and wanted to make sure that it was something he was proud of”.

“Working with Shane, the songs became stronger and more solidified” says Hallen.

The time spent writing and crafting the album is apparent. Saves’ 11 tracks possess a quality of song-craft that is not always present on a band’s debut release. Album opener “Bleached Bones” serves as the perfect introduction, showcasing Hallen’s forceful delivery over driving rhythms and haunting synths. “Watch It Burn” recalls the sonics of Pornography-era Cure, but the band’s rugged rhythmic approach sharpen the track, giving the song a menacing quality. “Tribeless” is arguably the album’s most direct offering, sounding the closest to straightforward punk, but even then, it still features plenty of auxiliary texture and noise that prevent it from not being able to hold its own. On the opposite end of the spectrum, “Nightbursts” finds the band at their most electronic, focusing more so on the synth work and programming. Still, it doesn’t sound out of place on Saves, and while there may be slight variance from track to track, the album is unified and feels like a singular cohesive vision.

Well timed or not, Convert are a band whose music suits the eclectic nature of the streaming era. Atmospheric and moody while also brash and aggressive, Convert’s hybridized sound is one that sits well in a time where variety is the norm and the barriers of genres all but cease to exist. Had they arrived even seven years prior, the public may not have been ready, but the time is right for Convert. If Saves is any indicator, this could be the beginning of something far greater than simply being Milwaukee’s best new act. You be the judge.

Convert’s debut LP, Saves, is slated for release on April 15, 2022 via Triple Eye Industries, Forge Again Records and Dog and Pony Records.