"Santa Barbara" and "Blue" - the two songs on this limited edition water-bottle-blue 7-inch - pick up where last year’s studio album, 'Tomb,' produced by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), left off. Returning to New York City in the fall of 2019 for a short stint, the Thousand Oaks, California-based songwriter capped off a remarkable year of personal and professional growth by continuing to write new music, while also mastering digital production. These two new singles showcase the stunning evolution of De Augustine's already auspicious catalog hinted at on 'Tomb' (which now counts The 1975’s Matty Healy and Taylor Swift amongst its admirers). They also mark Angelo and Sufjan’s first official studio collaboration. “All my life has been a surprise,” De Augustine sings over a lonely Guilele arpeggio that builds into a gentle wave of acoustic arrangements. By the song’s chorus, De Augustine’s multi-layered voice keeps his own company in a time of uncertainty: “Oh my love I’m lost again / though I try when will I win?” With love remaining a constant source of assurance (“All this life has been a disguise / except for the hand in mine”), “Santa Barbara” becomes a prayer of hope and love for those that are listening in their own loneliness.
