CONVERGE
Hum Of Hurt (Deathwish/Epitaph)
After years of Converge drought, we are blessed with a second album of new material, following February’s Love Is Not Enough – and Hum Of Hurt takes a more esoteric approach while maintaining the ferocity you would expect.
The opening riff to I Won’t Let You is reminiscent of Kerosene by Big Black, before launching into something that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Unsane album. It’s Not Up To Us throws in some xylophone, while Dream Debris takes a bass motif that turns into something resembling a breakdown, reinforcing its impact through repetition. The title track is anthemic and a future live favourite beckoning for a singalong, with standout percussion from Ben Koller driving the whole thing.
Great to see a band this far into their career be confident enough to release a brand new album instead of some half cooked bonus tracks tacked onto the end of their last one.
words GARETH MOULE
