We Are Augustines: Rise Ye Sunken Ships
Artist: We Are Augustines
Album: Rise Ye Sunken Ships
Label: Oxcart Records
Out Now
Rating: 5/5
We Are Augustines have been whipping up a storm in the U.S. and now the UK is set to get a dose of their upfront and personal music with their debut album Rise Ye Sunken Ships.
The stunning Chapel Song opens the album and it is a song that is about watching a woman you love marry another man it’s also about the end of an era and moving forward.
Chapel Song, much like the rest of the album, is a deeply personal song and the lyrics are supported by an enchanting rhythm that is accompanied by catchy hooks and horns - it is one of the best songs on this record.
Billy McCarthy, who is super charming by the way, has penned all of the songs on the album and the singer songwriter really has opened himself up in the writing of this record.
Rise Ye Sunken Ships is an incredibly personal album from McCarthy as it takes an audience through some truly dark time for the singer; including the death of both his mother and his brother.
Book of James and Philadelphia (The City of Brotherly Love) are just two of the songs that tackle the death of his brother.
And with Juarez he tells is as it is with lyrics such as ’I’ve got a drunk for a mother; got a saint for a brother’.
Despite the subject nature of Philadelphia (The City Of Brotherly Love) it is perhaps the most anthemia song on the album - the guitar and drums really give it a very powerful feel; it is definitely one of the heavier songs on the album.
Those moving lyrics are made even more emotive by McCarthy’s tortured vocals - this was clearly a hard record for him to make and the strain as he sings is evident; but that just adds to the power of this spectacular record.
The members of We Are Augustines have had their fair share of troubles over the years but Rise Ye Sunken Ships is a nod back to those problems as well as showing they all of them have come through the other side.
They may be deeply affected by what has happened to them and they have poured all of that pain and emotion into this record to make it a truly emotional and beautiful album.
It’s not very often that we get an album that is so open and frank and never has the story from beat down to triumph sounded so good!!
We Are Augustines album Rise Ye Sunken Ships is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw