We Are Augustines - Rise Ye Sunken Ships (Album Review)
Monday, 12 March 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
Music is a wonderful artform, open to interpretation and able to be used as a musical outlet. Music is there to tell a story in a form the population can access with ease and allow people to turn their own experiences into works of art – be it stooped in intricate metaphors or presented as a straight forward cry of angst. With this option of storytelling in mind, we come to We Are Augustines’ debut full length release ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’, one that needs to be put in context before you hear anymore.
This 45 minute journey is musical embodiment of frontman Billy McCarthy’s struggles with tragic events in his life, primarily the events surrounding his younger brother Jim. He battled drug addiction and had lived both in homeless shelters and on the streets of California. Diagnosed schizophrenic, he was placed in solitary confinement for four years and, in the end, Jim hung himself. While this is hard enough, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia earlier in his life and he – alongside his siblings – were taken into care. When he was 19, his mother took her own life by overdosing. While he hadn’t been writing songs for too long, McCarthy tried to deal with such difficult subject matter through his music. A full story is published on the band’s website and is most definitely worth your time.
With this knowledge, it proves difficult to listen to this record without really listening to what is being said. It is, by all accounts, an album with more of a back story than most you will hear today and it’s truly amazing to find someone willing to put themselves and their story out there in this form.
Vocally, it appears that the words are a struggle to get out, often tortured and raw, emotionally provoking. At moments, raspy breaths really reflect a desperation in ‘Juarez’. It’s hard to adequately summarise its effect, but it feels inescapably dark. Musically, the record is simple, appearing minimalist and overwrought with orchestral sounds all at once. There’s a variety of emotions picked at throughout: anger, sadness, hope. There’s noticeable similarities to Springsteen at moments, but few care for comparisons. Even recurring musical themes avoid criticism, because the album is a much greater entity than mere musicality alone.
‘Patton State Hospital’ is another number that emulates a certain darkness, although still seeming upbeat. While emotions are an ever present undertone to the entire album, there’s a sense that even in the darkest of times there’s a hopeful nature to it all – a real sense of being able to come through even the worst of times. Lyrically, we hear, “It’s a shame [...] we’re going to get you cleaned up James” before the music takes one of its most assaulting turns, brash guitar and drum beats emulating both turmoil and a struggle. It returns more to an angelic simplicity, once again reinforcing that sense of hope.
The likes of ‘Augustine’ appears to deal with his own struggles with depression through an acoustic offering. He sings of not expecting to lose his family around him, proclaiming ‘fought some battles and we lost the war’. It’s hard hitting, but maintains a sense of survival (“Keep your head up, kid”). ‘Book of James’ is more prevalent in dealing with the loss of his brother, a truly saddening dialogue that is most touching as the words “You’re forgiven” repeats throughout.
In a realistic sense, this record could be picked apart song by song and each would provoke a series of emotions both from the band and the listener. It’s simply sublime. It’s a real story of survival and one that’s been documented in an amazing fashion. This is a story of true tragedy yet, as we listen to ‘Rise Ye Sunken Ships’, we see that it’s a tragedy he has managed to live through and channel in this outlet.
Many are deeming this the record of the year, and it’s hard to argue. We’re losing ourselves slowly to music with catchy beats and undeniable sing-a-longs, but while there are people in the world so invested in putting hard hitting stories to music, we’ll never truly be lost. If you have an hour to spare, I urge you to read the story on the band’s website and listen to this album; you won’t regret it.
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This 45 minute journey is musical embodiment of frontman Billy McCarthy’s struggles with tragic events in his life, primarily the events surrounding his younger brother Jim. He battled drug addiction and had lived both in homeless shelters and on the streets of California. Diagnosed schizophrenic, he was placed in solitary confinement for four years and, in the end, Jim hung himself. While this is hard enough, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia earlier in his life and he – alongside his siblings – were taken into care. When he was 19, his mother took her own life by overdosing. While he hadn’t been writing songs for too long, McCarthy tried to deal with such difficult subject matter through his music. A full story is published on the band’s website and is most definitely worth your time.
