With little fanfare, fuss or promotion William McCarthy drops his stunning debut solo release ‘Shelter’, then saunters back to the flickering neon of Brooklyn’s smog and bars – By Guy Shankland. The album is Produced by former bandmate Eric Sanderson, who along with (the other Augustine) Rob Allen also guests on a couple of tracks. It’s an eclectic mix of originals, covers and unearthed gems from bands past as McCarthy lays his musical roots bare. Opener ‘Still I Rise’ reduces me to a blubbering mess, I have no idea why it just does. Perhaps it’s his voice, a rich, gravely lived in rasp than drips with bourbon, fuelled by lost loves, lives and chances passed. It’s an Augustine Landmine, which blows away any album apprehension while it warmly envelops the ears and reassuringly whispers “I’m here…It‘s Ok… I’m here”. Dylan‘s ‘Moonshiner’ along with Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Tegumseh Valley’ are both given the stripped-down red carpet treatment, while original composition ’Time Ain’t Always On My Side’ finds the singer’s tour ravaged larynx stretched to their vocal limits on the beautifully simplistic chorus. Just close your eyes and let the memories, heartbreak and those short moments of bliss back in, just for one delicious moment give in. Sade’s ‘By Your Side’, Crooked Fingers ‘The Rotting Strip’ and the second Dylan track ‘Paths of Victory’ canter in to the albums final furlong with familiar ease.. ‘The Trouble With River Cities’ from McCarthy’s pre Augustines band Pela gets a well deserved airing before Devendra Banhart’s ‘Autumns Child’ completes an album that just needs to be heard, held and heralded. This is the perfect autumnal accompaniment to roaring fires, long leafy walks in drizzling rain, Sunday roasts, conker trees and a single malt to help melt away your emotional defences. Rise ye sunken ship, rise.
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