Album Review

We Are Augustines – Rise Ye Sunken Ships

• 2nd Mar 2012

There has been a buzz around Brooklyn based indie rock trio We Are Augustines for a while now, so this debut album has been eagerly awaited by a rapidly growing fan base on both sides of the pond. And they certainly won’t be disappointed with what is a fine first album, full of all the power that the group possesses.

It’s passionate and heartfelt throughout; at times anthemic and at others a little softer in tone. There are big hooks and pounding drums, angst ridden vocals and occasional keyboard flourishes and even an instrumental track to close things down. Bring it all together and you get twelve tracks of real quality that make up an excellent debut album.

We Are Augustines is made up of two New Yorkers: singer/ guitarist Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson on bass and keyboards plus an English drummer, Rob Allen. But on many of these tracks it sounds like there is a much bigger band playing.

McCarthy is the main writer and his candid lyrical style gives us songs covering the incredible traumas he has been through. Raised in a succession of foster homes and never knowing his father, as a young adult he had to cope with the loss of his mother and then the suicide of his younger brother James, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and struggled with substance abuse before hanging himself while in a prison hospital.

Yet what are clearly very personal, and very dark, songs become more universal, such is McCarthy’s lyrical skill. And despite covering such a devastating time in his life, McCarthy has produced something that takes all of the pain and hopelessness he quite clearly felt and turns it into potent music that resonates and draws the listener in. The spirit of James is ever present throughout the album even in songs that don’t touch directly on his tragic story.

The current single Chapel Song is simple and a little repetitive, but it works well, telling the story of McCarthy watching the woman he loves walking through the chapel to marry another man. His pain is clear in this opening song, but that’s nothing compared to what is still to come.

Augustine confronts his battle with depression as McCarthy struggles to help his brother, whose life is in a dramatic downward spiral. His desperation at his own inability to help is clear. The lines, “Keep your head up, kid / I know you can swim but you gotta move your legs”, describes trying to help someone who just doesn’t want to be helped in heartbreaking fashion.

The band’s previous single Book of James confronts the demons tormenting McCarthy in the wake of his brother’s death. It’s easy to describe the song as a eulogy but it is far more than that. It is an anthem for those who suffer through mental illness and also a call for understanding. Musically it uses change of pace well, with big guitar riffs yet also using softer passages where the vocals are backed by a delicate banjo. And the final message to his brother is a simple one: “Just know we tried and you’re forgiven”.

Other highlights of the album include one of the slower songs, the lovely acoustic East Los Angeles, the big and joyfully anthemic Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love) and a couple more of the rockers. Juarez tells of McCarthy’s unsuccessful trip to Mexico to look for his father, while Patten State Hospital deals with a visit to a prison mental health facility where his brother was incarcerated. Its emotional content reflects confusion and the refrain of “We’re going to get you cleaned up, James” is hopeful but somehow tragically forlorn.

Eric Sanderson’s closing The Instrumental is a triumphant and chaotic coda to the album. It mixes snippets of radio sounds with electronic effects and a steady trumpet that transcends it all. The pure sound of the instrument contrasts with the chaos around it to create a pleasing effect that slowly fades to end the album.

There is a tremendous amount of darkness in many of the lyrics on Rise Ye Sunken Ships. But, as the title reflects, there is a measure of hope too, despite the traumatic events it describes. It is an extremely powerful album, musically and emotionally, but never difficult to listen to. McCarthy has taken these horrific experiences and moulded his response into an excellent debut album, which is no mean feat.

As a young band We Are Augustines have shown great courage in tackling so many difficult issues in their debut album. They are to be congratulated for that – and for the quality of the final product.