Hailing from a charmingly named Los Angeles suburb called Thousand Oaks, Angelo De Augustine presents his first bona fide studio album, following a series of low-key releases recorded in a bathtub on a reel-to-reel tape machine and a single microphone.
His beautifully realised sophomore outing, Tomb, ups the ante considerably, as it is produced by none other than Thomas Bartlett of The Gloaming. Sufjan Stevens is also committed champion and collaborator, and Stevens himself plays grand piano on the lead single, Time.
Fans of the modern folk trailblazer from Michigan would be well advised to seek Angelo De Augustine out, as he ploughs a very similar furrow with a highly effective hushed vocal technique. The title track is gorgeous; one of those songs that doesn’t come around too often that just stops you in your tracks.
The project reportedly came into being after the sudden end of a relationship, when De Augustine threw himself into a frenzy of writing as an antidote to heartbreak.
He recorded Tomb in just five short days with Bartlett, and the results announce a major new talent. While De Augustine's voice wears slightly thin over the course of an entire album, a huge 2019 surely beckons.