Augustines’ Self-titled Lp [stream]

Augustines – Nothing to Lose But Your Head SoundCloud

Diving into a record without any prior experience or current knowledge of the artist responsible can often be the best approach — there are no expectations or preconceptions, both of which were absent when I first spun the new effort from Augustines. This was my introduction to the group, and although it’s not without faults, Augustines self-titled sophomore LP is actually a very uplifting listen.

One thing that jumps out at you upon first listen is that this record could easily propel the group much further afield. There are a lot of crossover ingredients to be found here, and the overall sound of Augustines is something I can see spreading across a more commercial landscape.

They have an uprising and soaring sound, the kind which definitively fits within the brackets of the indie rock/pop genre; yet just about each track on the album is puffed up to an almost anthemic status. Full-bodied, robust compositions with arching melodies are constantly driving the album forward, and are more often than not quite catchy and infectious. However, in a beneficial juxtaposition, the group inserts a hushed and intimate lyric here and there. Something as simple as their vocalist confessing he “still reaches for you in the dark” often has a way of piercing through the solid demeanor of the instrumentation — even more so when delivered with the kind of raspy vocal performance often heard on the record.

It could be claimed that the album is lacking a little variation and tends to deliver most of its instrumentation all at once, rather than breaking it down into separate pieces. Granted, had Augustines applied more of this, the album would have surely had more room to breathe and more to offer. With time comes opportunity — especially the opportunity to experiment and tinker with the configurations they’ve established here. With their second roll of the dice, they’ve concocted a formula that has plenty going for it and all the potential to evolve into something significant.