Augustines

The Seattle trio, Augustines, formerly called We Are Augustines, will be releasing their sophomore full length self-titled album on January 21st via Votiv/Oxcart. The first single out now is "Cruel City." It has lead singer, Billy McCarthy's unmistakable voice, a relentless groove, and some very African-inspired choral singing.

Regarding the song, Augustines drummer Rob Allen explains, "Cities nowadays aren't easy living - you always have to fight and struggle to get by to have a nice life. That's kind of the inspiration for the song. People have been saying how it sounds "Africany" and we do listen to a lot of African music in the van."

Consisting of guitarist Billy McCarthy, multi-instrumentalist Eric Sanderson and drummer Rob Allen, Augustines debut album Rise Ye Sunken Ships was released in August 2011. It covered a lot of very difficult subjects, the most prominent of these subjects were the untimely deaths of McCarthy's mother and brother. Rob Allen, the bands drummer, states that while there is a heavy focus on the painful subjects throughout this album, the band also has a deep sense of positivity and hope.

"The songs are about topics that happened over a period of time. They have a lot of meaning to us, especially Bill and that won't change, but, if anything, we are living proof that things can get better, opportunities can come your way and that is worth celebrating! We are jovial, energetic people who want to enjoy life and I think that's what you see when we perform."

Augustines just wrapped a tour supporting Frightened Rabbit in the U.S. but will be back at it in the winter promoting the new album.

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