The voice is stunning from the start. Even with the slightest breath, Angelo De Augustine's crystalline voice box is a powerful magnet reminiscent of Elliott Smith or Sufjan Stevens, who has guided him in the past... As a goldsmith of a beautiful folk rock that’s sometimes rather minimalist, sometimes almost like chamber music, this bearded Californian writes and records in Thousand Oaks where he grew up, in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles. Tomb’s long, thick coat of melancholy stems from a breakup that De Augustine went through in 2017. He bears the burden of months of sadness, desolation and the introspection that followed. He's looking for his mistakes. He’s flicking through the family album. All with a stunning delicacy.
But as this young songwriter is a master of pointillism, he transforms this desolation into pure beauty. Behind the glass Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman, who has already produced quite a few notable musicians, including Sufjan Stevens, Anna Calvi, Glen Hansard, The National, Sam Amidon, Rhye, St. Vincent and Nico Muhly) finds the perfect way to magnify this incandescent material in its beautifully raw state. Utterly moving. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz