Artist: We Are Augustines
Title: Rise Ye Sunken Ships
Genre: Indie Rock
Release Date: 2nd March 2012
Label: EMI
Album Review
WE ARE AUGUSTINE rose from the ashes of PELA, a band formerly comprised of both Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson before dissolving due to industry and personal issues. ‘Rise Yet Sunken Ships’ is a revisit of older works from PELA that were unreleased and reworked/ rewritten to a much more tolerable appreciation of the band. The sound constructed throughout the album is very story-like; it all seamlessly flows together track after track with that simple, basic sound that has a bit of mystical tone to it thanks to overlapping guitar. One could very well consider this to the more “art rock” form of PEARL JAM’s ‘Backspacer’. The album opens with ‘Chapel Song’ which features rather poppy electronic influences mixed with the guitars strumming along in a very basic, but harmonic tone and the vocals layered so it feels like multiple people are singing. This is probably one of the stronger offerings of music as the other tracks seem a bit dry compared to the harmonies here. On ‘East Of Los Angeles’, the band seems to go for too much of a BOB DYLAN approach, but the vocals seem a bit too dry to really enjoy, like a smoker’s voice would carry. On ‘Juarez’, the singular vocal approach is much better, clearer, and still carries that rather “campfire song” vibe to makes it so unique and catchy at the same time.
Some of the tracks get heavier and even lead a bit more towards the Hard Rock vein. ‘Philadelphia…’ has a sharper, churning guitar tone with the vocals adding a bit of a snarl to the singing, although they clear up a bit more during the chorus which brings back the harmonics. One thing that WE ARE AUGUSTINES does very well is vary the pace and tone of the music back and forth between tracks and within tracks, never leaving listeners feel like they’ve heard the same riff twice but at the same time not moving away from the Indie Rock genre and upsetting anyone. ‘Patton State Hospital’ has an excellent smattering of drums and the guitars go back and forth between their softer moments to louder, crashing, faster speed riffs, which is a complete opposite of the acoustic ‘Strange Days’ which even sounds like it includes some trombone in the background for a few moments, which may bring back memories of the Punk/ Rock group BLACK 47. And oddly enough, despite such a strong difference, the track still flows seamlessly into the next one. Overall, ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’ can take a bit of getting used to because it is not the typical approach to Rock, but the orchestration of the album is very well done despite its quiet nature. It doesn’t make waves, but casts a few ripples that will certainly appeal to those who like music that is avant-garde and still tasteful without being a completely overwhelming mind wreck.
Tracklist
01. Chapel Song - 3:08
02. Augustine - 4:15
03. Headlong into the Abyss - 4:29
04. Book of James - 5:00
05. East Los Angeles - 2:59
06. Juarez - 4:20
07. Philadelphia (City of Brotherly Love) - 4:18
08. New Drink for the Old Drunk - 3:55
09. Patton State Hospital - 3:20
10. Strange Days - 3:02
11. Barrel of Leaves - 3:08
12. The Instrumental - 3:50
Line-up
Billy McCarthy- guitar/ vocals
Eric Sanderson- bassist
Rob Allen- drums
Website
http://weareaugustines.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
Buy the album here!
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