We Are Augustines Debut Album, "Rise Ye Sunken Ships," To Be Released On August 23 Via Oxcart Records

Brooklyn-based We Are Augustines are set to have a physical release of their debut full-length, Rise Ye Sunken Ships, on August 23 via Atlantic/WEA Distribution. The album landed in the Top 10 of SoundScan's New Artists chart on the strength of its first week of digital sales. The album release will be a cause for celebration for the band as they'll be marking the occasion with a very special performance on WNYC Soundcheck at 2 p.m. EST.

The band will be heading out on tour in September to support Rise Ye Sunken Ships, visiting major markets including Washington DC, Boston and Los Angeles along the way. The tour begins on September 10 in Seattle, WA, but will be preceded by a number of Daytrotter Barnstormer shows in late August. For full tour dates, please see below.

The band was formed by ex-Pela members Billy McCarthy and Eric Sanderson, and includes Rob Allen on drums. Much of the material on Rise Ye Sunken Ships documents the most traumatic period of lead vocalist/guitarist McCarthy's life in which he lost both his schizophrenic mother and his brother, James, to suicide. "Headlong Into The Abyss" recounts James' flight from the police while "Book of James," one of several songs recorded with producer Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene), is a gripping eulogy for this once-resilient spirit who succumbed to the pressures bearing down on him. "The Instrumental," a transcendent, richly textured piece written by bassist/keyboardist Sanderson, closes out Rise Ye Sunken Ships on a note of hope, suggesting that struggle can ultimately point the way to peace.

The album has already received praise, with NYLON noting that while it is "an album rooted in tragedy, there is a certain hopefulness to it, and McCarthy sings like a man who has a lot to say and wants to be heard before it is too late." Similarly, the band's video for "Chapel Song" has already been added at MTV-U in Cum Laude rotation.

We Are Augustines Tour Dates:

AUGUST

26 - North Hampton, NH - Daytrotter Barnstormer

27 - Ghent, NY - Daytrotter Barnstormer

28 - Charlotte, VT - Daytrotter Barnstormer

29 - New York, NY - Daytrotter Barnstormer



SEPTEMBER

10 - Seattle, WA - Neptune
12 - San Francisco, CA - Slims
13 - Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theatre
17 - Dallas, TX - Prophet Bar
18 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
20 - Nashville, TN - The Basement
22 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
25 - Washington DC - Red Palace
27 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
28 - Philadelphia, PA - Milk Boy