"I'll believe in anything / If you take away all this pain / Oh god is this the end? / I've seen it before on CNN..." The title track, "Toil and Trouble", from Angelo De Augustine's fourth album is steeped in an organic stew of pain and melancholia, spiced with pure beauty and acerbic wit, and maybe some salt and sugar. I also feel the whimsical parts of truth and consequences painted in the same way as luminaries such as Elliot Smith, Paul Simon, Townes Van Zandt and that part of Wes Anderson's brain that frames his art just so. Augustine here (and before) in the right light of day can make me very sad and self reflective. I realize that could mostly be me and not him but then it doesn't negate what is sound and artistic clarity does to me.
"Toil and Trouble" accompanied with a stellar animated Official Video, directed By Angelo De Augustine himself with editing and animation by Clara Murray make it all better and even dulls the depressive punches to my empty gut. The song is perfectly rendered and in another light feels like a hard long hug at a funeral. It may or may not be, ultimately about, how the ill parts of us are fed by another person, maybe an evil clown and sometimes we are that evil clown. I dunno.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://angelodeaugustine.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0W79ONUwHoehEib1nRXlmi?si=xXEIV2WgTIS6FHzazH3MUQ&nd=1
https://www.instagram.com/angelodeaugustine/
https://twitter.com/A_De_Augustine
Angelo De Augustine is an artist and songwriter living in Thousand Oaks, California—a suburb north of Los Angeles, where he grew up. He has released three albums including his self-released debut, Spirals of Silence (2014), and two for Asthmatic Kitty Records, Swim Inside The Moon (2017) and Tomb (2019). These records, each released to increasing global notoriety, showcased De Augustine’s preternatural talent for songwriting. While Swim Inside The Moon was produced at home and recorded in his bathtub, De Augustine’s acclaimed third full length album Tomb marked a significant shift with production by Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman) at New York City’s Reservoir Studios. “27” and “Hologram” mark his first new music since 2021’s acclaimed collaborative LP with Sufjan Stevens, A Beginner’s Mind, and his first solo work since 2020’s dual tracks “Santa Barbara” and “Blue.” These originals–recorded, produced, and mixed by Angelo–hint at a larger sound to come, and a profound artistic evolution years in the making.
Angelo De Augustine, singer songwriter, musician, Thousand Oaks California, folk indie, indie rock, alt pop, acerbic, beautiful melancholia, fourth album "Toil and Trouble",
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