Photo Credit: Phil Knott
Augustines – heretofore known as We Are Augustines – will kick off a North American headline tour at Venue in Vancouver, BC on February 5, 2014 – the day after Votiv/Oxcart releases the band’s new album. The self-titled collection follows the group’s 2011 breakthrough debut album, Rise Ye Sunken Ships.
The six-week run will include shows at the historic Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA (February 11) and New York City’s Bowery Ballroom (March 3). Tickets go on sale Friday, December 13. See below for itinerary or visit http://www.weareaugustines.com for further details. Augustines recently wrapped up a fall tour with Frightened Rabbit, winning praise from SPIN for their “scrappy vitality [and] gruff yet sophisticated rafter-raising.”
The three musicians – Billy McCarthy (vocals, guitar), Eric Sanderson (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Rob Allen (drums, percussion) – recorded Augustines with co-producer Peter Katis (The National, Frightened Rabbit, Jónsi) at his Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT. Fans can stream two of the songs from the new album here:
“Augustines Soar,” proclaimed Rolling Stone as it premiered the life-affirming “Now You Are Free” earlier this week here, noting, “The first tracks from the new record, the arena-ready ‘Cruel City’ and now ‘Now You Are Free,’ lift Ships’ roof-raising choruses to U2 levels of ambition with shout-along choruses and rollicking drums.”
With its widescreen arrangements, joyous energy and elegiac grace, Augustines sees the band’s artistry ascending to new heights. The sessions were marked by a distinctly more optimistic perspective than the band’s bittersweet debut, Rise Ye Sunken Ships.
Augustines emerged from the ashes of Pela, an esteemed Brooklyn indie rock band that McCarthy and Sanderson were members of. The pair reconvened soon after Pela disbanded and dubbed their new endeavor “Augustines,” though trademark issues forced them to append the name to “We Are Augustines.” The band has since reclaimed their original moniker and moved to Seattle.
Rise Ye Sunken Ships, which detailed battles with depression and the death of a close family member, was named 2011’s “Best Alternative Album” by iTunes and ranked among NPR Music’s “Top Five Concept Albums of the Year.” “These songs tear the flesh from your bones with gentle devastation. But, in their tremulous, spirited delivery and their layered structures – at once sparse and orchestral – they also inspire a sense of hope for the future and a glimmer of redemption,” said the BBC. “…think Bruce Springsteen at his most emotionally candid and cathartic but channelled through the broken bones of early Arcade Fire.”
McCarthy and Sanderson enlisted the British-born Allen and the trio performed innumerable headline shows, show-stealing festival dates and support sets alongside such bands as The Boxer Rebellion, Counting Crows, The Maccabees and Band of Skulls. “The sold-out crowd responded to the band’s energy and commitment with a level of enthusiasm unusual for a London audience, helping create a truly special night full of unapologetic, unironic, heartfelt joy,” said MTV UK in a live review. Augustines also performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Last Call with Carson Daly” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” The latter appearance drew an emotional response from Letterman, who told the audience: “You know, ladies and gentlemen, what they’re trying to tell us is life is an ocean and we are all ships. If your ship has sunk don’t despair, don’t lose hope. Rise, ye sunken ships.”
Where their first record was created in relative isolation, Augustines was made “with the awareness that we weren’t going to be alone anymore,” says McCarthy. “This is us handing it over to those people that sang our songs back to us all over the world. We turned from the interior and started considering some of the breathtaking moments that happened to us on the road, in different countries.”
Augustines album pre-order: http://smarturl.it/ahippy
AUGUSTINES HEADLINE TOUR 2014
FEBRUARY
5 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue
7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room
8 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
11 – West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
13 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
17 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues Bronze Peacock
18 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
19 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Cambridge Room
21 – New Orleans, LA @ Parish at House of Blues
22 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
23 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
25 – Durham, NC @ Motorco
26 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
MARCH
3 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
5 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
6 – Providence, RI @ Fete (Lounge)
7 – Rochester, NY @ The Club at Water Street
9 – Montreal, QC @ Belmont
11 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
12 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
14 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
15 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
18 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
19 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
21 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Sound
