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After growing up in the conservative, papermill town of Lincoln, Maine, nomadic artist Jacob Augustine traveled the world before settling back in Portland, Maine when his mother and grandmother fell ill. Ethereal, angry and clawing free from the pain, I Love You Forever, Augustine’s first record in a decade, is announced today and due out May 22 via Team Love Records. The album is a study in contradictions: sparse but blossoming in scale, ugly for its naked understanding of American history and psychosis, yet beautiful to the point of breathless majesty. “Most of the material was written when my mother was sick. A lot of it is a reflection of that struggle. Also, the album is a critique of capitalist powers that dominate our world. It’s about systemic racism, rural ignorance, and apathy. Our ugly history as Americans. Money over people.”
To this point, lead single “Midnight Drum” puts a cracked mirror to the face of the predatory class. Released today alongside a Lynchian official video, it is a personal reflection of his experience while also looking at issues globally. It tackles the ugliness and greed of “‘The “Elite’ banging the drum while we sleep.” Jacob continues, “We’re overworked and underpaid. We’re too tired to dream. And all the while the money men scheme. How to feed our kids to the war machine. How to pluck the land til it’s ‘nevergreen’. Until there’s only dollar bills. Until there’s nothing left to kill.”
Watch / Share: “Midnight Drum”
These are not pop songs, and yet, there’s something magical in Augustine’s voice and sense of melody, something so finely crafted in the songwriting and performance, that the songs wedge into the listener’s head like the most cherry-cola coated of tunes. In this sense, it is pop music, but in the tradition of Nick Cave, Sarah Mary Chadwick, Tom Waits, AHOHNI, Marlon Williams, Tyler Ballgame or Nina Simone.
Jacob’s late mother was a committed Catholic who also supported him having a death metal band in the basement. “She was definitely a bright light for myself, and many others,” he says and wonders if a town where the mill closed long ago, with its cancer clusters, fearful politics, and practice of coping with boredom through violence could also be a place where creativity blossoms and turns ugliness into something sacred and universal? Perhaps nurture itself is the answer to this question, a quality that exists despite everything that tries to stamp it out. This is why he chose the album cover to be a photo of his mother from a time in her life where she was part of the 60’s counter-culture, which stood for civil rights. Anti-fascism. Peace and love. He shares, “I would like this image to forever stand as a symbol of that ongoing movement. An image of fighting the powers that be with joy and love in our hearts.”
Be sure to catch Jacob Augustine’s 2026 North American tour in a city near you.
Tour Dates – TICKETS
4/8: Frenchville, NJ @ FiNNBAR
4/9: Allentown, PA @ Soft Machine Gallery
4/10: Gardiner, NY @ Full Circle-The Living Room
4/11: Baltimore, MD @ Four Hour Day
4/12: Philadelphia, PA @ The Perch
4/15: Richmond, VA @ The Arch
4/16: Raleigh, NC @ Berkeley Cafe
4/19: Alexandria, VA @ Galactic Panther
4/22: Charlotte, NC @ The Sunroom
4/23: Asheville, NC @ Static Age Records
4/24: Black Mountain, NC @The Pump House
4/25: Atlanta, GA @ Culture Shock
4/26: Nashville, TN @ The Basement
4/28: Louisville, KY @ Cave Valley Kava
4/29: Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Tavern
4/30: Lafayette, IN @ The Spot
5/1: Chicago, IL @ Fitzgerald’s
5/2: Kalamazoo, MI @ The Polish Hall
5/3: Milwaukee, WI @ Bremen Cafe
5/4: Chicago, IL @ The Burlington
5/5: Madison, WI @ Bur Oak
5/6: Grand Rapids, MI @ The Philmore
5/7: Detroit, MI @ Jobstoppers
5/8: Columbus, OH @ Emporium Wines & Underground Cafe
5/9: Loraine, OH @ Ship to Shore
5/10: Rochester, NY @ South Wedge Mission
5/15: Ridgewood, NY@ The Footlight
5/16: East Hampton, MA @ Luthier’s Co-op
5/17: Winooski, VT @ The Monkey House
