By Tom Carlson

“Blue" is a two track EP by Angelo De Augustine. It is short but dense,  sweet but melancholic, dreamy, introspective, emotional and forlorn. 

De Augustine is a California native producing under Sufjan Stevens’ label Asthmatic Kitty Records. Following his 2019 release “Tomb,” “Blue” is De Augustine’s first official collaboration with Sufjan Stevens and their soft textural approaches blend perfectly together 

De Augustine paints soft arpeggios on a warm nylon string guitar patterned with two steel string guitars; one of which provides the low end, the other is high strung and sits shimmering in the upper register. De Augustine’s gentle voice cuts above everything in the mix. His own added harmony creates an effect of supreme solitude.  Behind De Augustine is world renowned musician Sufjan Stevens who plays a soft acoustic piano, electric guitar and synthesizer. Stevens adds background vocals as well to give a “wall of sound” effect as part of the sound floor for the EP. 

The title track, “Blue," talks about deep trauma from the perspective of a child. De Augustine opens up to us in a way that is anything but cryptic. The line “I turned five, you left mother on her own to raise a child,” is followed subsequently by “thought she would take her life. "Santa Barbara,” also the name of an ocean side town in California, touches upon childhood feelings of being lost. His musing on Sir Doyles "Sherlock Holmes” takes serious matters in a playful and familiar way while not interfering with the track's overwhelmingly forlorn sentiments. De Augustine describes unfamiliarity as phantoms, he describes his world as somewhere unknown between dark and light, wondering if “the creator” is on his side. 

“Blue” places us by the sea. It feels hazy as many childhood memories — as is the film footage of his music video for the title track. De Augustine creates a duality present in both the sea and childhood memory. On one side, the waves are calming much like the instrumentation and voices are being gentle and soothing. On the other side is a tempest; powerful lyrics and deep introspection reminds of us of the unforgiving power of the sea.

Tom is a culture writer for La Tonique.