Photo courtesy of Relief Map Records

A.S. Wilson has seen a few things. From New Orleans up through the midwest and then to the southeast, music (and a brief stay in divinity school) has taken him all over the country, more recently landing him in Providence. While most of his music entanglements leaned more punk, Wilson has always had a taste for the Americana-inflected indie rock songbooks of artists like David Bazan and Jason Molina. Wanting to codify hard life lessons in a similarly hardheaded but evocative way, Wilson starting slowly piecing together what would become Convinced Friend in 2018 while searching out for music community in an unfamiliar zone. 

Flyer courtesy of Relief Map Records

Eventually aided by Casey Belisle (of Nova One) and Brad Krieger (of Big Nice Studio), the songs on their self-titled debut (much like his heroes) sport a complicated relationship with faith and death, but are also fully alive and in love with the energy that comes from the community you seek out, making for a rock record that’s both haunted and celebratory in equal measure.

Convinced Friend opens with the expansive early single “White Collar.” A quick blast of THX Audio type noise to reset the stereo quickly folds out into a mid-tempo choogler not too far from the dust LVL UP were kicking up on their more spiritual closing salvo. Wilson clears the air with some old buddies about the good times and the bad and the lives they lived before loss and student loan debt lead them down different paths. Elsewhere, the sped-up waltz “Taken Apart” once again finds Wilson reaching out to someone else in need over a cyclical guitar line that traces around the melody like a figure eight. After a sparser middle section that strips away most of the drums, the closing “All At Once” ties it all together. Opening with a bit of heart beat electronic drum patter before shuffling into a toe-tapper of sorts, the drums mesh well with the wash of guitars and horns and keys, forming a warm embrace. It’s a verifiable celebration of sound, and a strong ending to a debut with plenty of character.

You can stream Convinced Friend a few days early below to prepare for their Boston debut TONIGHT at O’Brien’s Pub alongside labelmates Oh, Yes, and a solo set from Western Mass’ Gold Dust (who just put out a record of their own). Tickets are still available right here.

Convinced Friend is out from Relief Map Records on Friday, November 11th. You can pre-order on cassette or digital right here.