Convoy

San Diego-based Convoy, which plays Old Ironsides on Wednesday, October 24, emerged from the ashes of Dishwater, a band more akin to Blind Melon and Mother Hips. Convoy plays glorious country-tinged pop soaked with multi-part harmonies. If you fancy California twang or No Depression bands like Wilco and the Jayhawks, such songs as “Wet Cement” and “Eleventeen” should be right up on your porch. And a couple of early Convoy classics—“Weekends” and “Here’s Looking at You,” from the band’s self-produced album The Pineapple Sessions—have been reworked on Black Licorice by producer David Bianco (Tom Petty, Teenage Fanclub). Guitarist-vocalists Jason Hill and Brian Karscig weave melodies with the candor of early Beatles, playing off their bandmates—Robbie Dodds on lap steel and guitar, Jeff Winfrey on bass, Mark Maigaard on drums—with relative ease. Black Licorice never had such a thrilling aftertaste.