For more than three decades, Converge have delivered musical and emotional catharsis, putting purpose before perception and intent before interpretation. Whether it’s their 2001 landmark recording Jane Doe or their 2021 Bloodmoon: I collaboration, Converge have created some of the most compelling music, lyrics, and visual art of the 21st century. During that time, fewer bands have had a greater impact on the underground imagination.
It seems unlikely that anyone who has been making music for this long would create one of their best works for their eleventh album, in their 35th year as a band. And yet: Love Is Not Enough— out today on CD/Digital, incoming March 13 on vinyl— might be the apotheosis of Converge’s decades-long journey through the punk, hardcore and metal microcosm. What vocalist/lyricist Jacob Bannon, guitarist/producer Kurt Ballou, bassist/vocalist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller have created is a strident artistic statement on the turmoil of living that hones their collective strengths to a razor’s edge.
The band comments on the album: “As a stand alone statement, the meaning is subjective— up to you. Love is an essential foundation for everything, yet it is not strong enough on its own to withstand the storm that life brings.”
Love Is Not Enough features no special guests, no studio trickery, no relentless massaging of human imperfection in trying to manufacture the perfect take. “I think that realism is missing from a lot of modern music of any genre, but especially our genre,” Bannon says. “Things either go super raw and almost chaotic to the point where it’s distracting, or bands take the life out of what they’re doing by editing every aspect. Sometimes the perfect take is the one that has some wildness to it. It’s not perfectly executed. There’s a lot of powerful moments on this record and a lot of angry moments. The realism amplifies that.”
Unlike so many albums that adhere to a time-honored sequencing format, cherry-picking favored tracks for the all-important first, second, and final spots, Love Is Not Enough is all about momentum. “It does a thing that no other Converge record does—it keeps ramping up,” Bannon says. “And that’s definitely by design. Internally, we passed around dozens of ideas for sequencing because everyone interprets music differently and there’s no right way of doing it. When we do that, we always joke that we all have to be equally unhappy. But this is the one that works.”
Love Is Not Enough was recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City in Salem, Massachusetts, with engineering assistance from Zach Weeks. Jacob Bannon did the artwork and design, creating an image for each song and a commanding cover depicting a celestial witness to a world aflame. “We still identify this band as the outlet that’s essential to our lives,” Bannon says. “We give everything we have to it. Being past your average middle age, we’re starting to see deeper than before into a variety of places. And I don’t think that’s specific to us. I think that’s something that’s utterly relatable.”
See Converge on tour in North America and Europe this spring— tickets here.
Converge, on tour:
Apr 02 Cleveland, OH — House of Blues #
Apr 03 Chicago, IL — Concord Music Hall #
Apr 04 Pontiac, MI — Crofoot #
Apr 05 Dayton, OH — The Hidden Gem
Apr 06 New Kensington, PA — Preserving Underground #
Apr 07 Toronto, ON — History #
Apr 08 Montreal, QC — Theatre Fairmont
Apr 09 Worcester, MA — Palladium #
Apr 10 New York, NY — Knockdown Center #
Apr 11 Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore #
Apr 12 Baltimore, MD — Nevermore Hall #
May 07 Denver, CO — Summit %
May 09 Austin, TX — Stubbs Outdoors %
May 10 Houston, TX — House of Blues %
May 12 Mesa, AZ — The Nile %
May 13 Los Angeles, CA — Belasco %
May 15 Anaheim, CA — House of Blues %
Mar 16 San Diego, CA — The Observatory North Park %
May 17 San Francisco, CA — The Regency Ballroom %
Apr 09 Worcester, MA — Palladium #
Apr 10 New York, NY — Knockdown Center #
Apr 11 Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore #
Apr 12 Baltimore, MD — Nevermore Hall #
May 07 Denver, CO — Summit %
May 09 Austin, TX — Stubbs Outdoors %
May 10 Houston, TX — House of Blues %
May 12 Mesa, AZ — The Nile %
May 13 Los Angeles, CA — Belasco %
May 15 Anaheim, CA — House of Blues %
Mar 16 San Diego, CA — The Observatory North Park %
May 17 San Francisco, CA — The Regency Ballroom %
Jun 25 Ysselsteyn, NL — Jera on Air
Jun 26 Rennes, FR — Superbowl of Hardcore
Jun 27 Manchester, UK — Outbreak Festival
Jun 28 Antwerp, BE — Kavka Zappa ^
Jun 29 Cologne, DE — Essigfabrik ^
Jul 01 Trutnov, CZ — Obscene Extreme Festival
Jul 02 Vienna, AT — Arena ^
Jul 03 Milan, IT — Circolo Magnolia ^
Jul 04 Viveiro, ES — Resurrection Fest
# with Poison the Well, SPY, Balmora
% with Poison the Well, The Armed, The Barbarians of California
^ with Heriot, Boneflower, Crouch
