Rise Ye Sunken Ships  Rise Ye Sunken Ships is the debut album of indie rock band Augustines, released under their original band name We Are Augustines. It debuted on iTunes on June 6, 2011 and was later released on CD on August 23, 2011. The original concept for the album was envisioned by singer/guitarist Billy McCarthy while touring with his previous band, Pela. The title was the first idea he had. McCarthy's experiences with his mother and brother, both of whom where diagnosed schizophrenic, influenced nearly all of the writing for the album. McCarthy, Sanderson and the other two members had recorded most of the original album, but decided to scrap about 80 percent of it "because it just wasn't strong." Fights with their manager and record label along with disagreements within the band ultimately lead to the break up of Pela before the album could be finished. During that time, McCarthy's brother James committed suicide, further increasing the issues within the band. McCarthy and Sanderson stayed in contact and eventually recorded a new song, “Book of James”, with producer David Newfeld. The duo decided they wanted to finish the entire album. McCarthy and Sanderson worked on the tracks in Sanderson's home studio. Once they finished, they released the album independently through iTunes and UNFD. They announced their existence as a band by performing “Book of James”, “Chapel Song” and other songs at the Cutting Room Studio with John Richards of KEXP. "Chapel Song" was featured on Starbucks' free 10-song Summer Mix sampler for 2011 and in a commercial for REI. A music video for "Chapel Song" was produced/directed by Matthew C. Mills, an Emmy Award-winning Director and owner of Spacestation, who is known for his work on "MTV Unplugged". The album has drawn high acclaim from critics. Justin Iger of Liquid Hip wrote, "Nearly every track on the 12-song album is perfectly executed as the set explores trying to carry on with life," and gave the album a 9.9 out of 10. Ryan Masteller of Critical Masses praised the album's deep meaning - writing, "Rise Ye Sunken Ships plays like a transformation – it’s horrific and captivating to see the stripping and reinterpretation of family meaning unfold as nakedly as it does." Steve Rippin of The Beat-Play Experiment wrote, "This band is the real deal and they have the real life strife to back up raw emotion on their debut record."