REVIEW: WE ARE AUGUSTINES – BOOK OF JAMES
If it’s earnest heartfelt rock n roll you’re after then look no further. Yeah, earnest heartfelt rock n roll might not sound like the coolest thing on earth these days, but there’s some things that cut a little deeper than what hat you’re wearing, what name graces your jeans, or whether you know which incarnation of dubstep is the dog’s bollocks this week.
We Are Augustines mainman Billy McCarthy has had more than his fair share of heartache in his life and it permeates his songwriting. Book Of James is a eulogy to his brother, who committed suicide in 2009, and the emotion that stems from that situation touches every note and every lyric of this song. It’s stunning stuff and owes a considerable debt to Springsteen’s ‘Born In The USA’. For as much as there’s a poignancy beating at the heart of ‘Book Of James’, there’s also a monster of a song here that somehow manages to still have a curious positivity and vibrancy. Expect big things from We Are Augustines.
