Augustana’s New Self-titled Album is a Dud

By Lauren Hartnett

Staff Writer

Augustana, an alternative rock band from San Diego, CA, just released their new self-titled album. The band’s fourth full-length album consists of calm melodies and meaningful lyrics. But in general, the album winded up being mediocre.

Augustana is most known for their hit song Boston, which was popular 6 years ago when their first album came out. You’ll probably recognize the song if you listen to it, if not by name. But each of Augustana’s albums sounds completely different from the last, so their new CD barely sounds anything like their first album that Boston was on. Augustana changes their music sound so much it’s really hard to recognize them once you hear them again years later. It also seems, that over the years their sound has changed from upbeat tunes to more soft melodies.

Their new sound makes them unique, but I’m sure many fans will be upset that they have changed so much. People expecting one thing will most likely not be satisfied with the album’s results. Whether you dig Augustana’s new sound or not, you can’t deny how much they’ve progressed over their years of being a band.

However, no songs really stood out to me on the album; they all sounded the same and sort of blended into each other. On one hand, that could count like a good thing. The songs blending into each other made it seem like the album was telling one long story. But I would have rather heard some variety in the music.

If I were to recommend one song to listen to or download, I would recommend Counting Stars. Counting Stars is a little faster paced and has a beautiful meaning behind it. The song is about a girl, of curse, and how the narrator is waiting or “counting the stars” until they can be together again. It’s sweet and catchy. Augustana’s experience with the music industry is shown through their songs. Each song off the latest album is filled with meaning, not just catchy beats and “fun” lyrics.

Even with the meaning behind their songs, the album was just average. I already have forgotten some of the songs since they sound so much like each other. The songs are so slow and soothing, so it makes it hard to pay attention to them sometimes. Because of this, it makes the album forgetful and I doubt the songs would stand out on the radio.

Overall, I’d give the album 2.5 out of 5 stars. The best song to listen to would be Counting Stars (which I recommend you look up on Youtube). If you like Augustana’s new sound, I would suggest looking at other bands like Secondhand Serenade or The Fray. If you don’t, just wait until their new album. Maybe they will change their sound once again.