Angelo De Augustine announced recently announced his new album Angel in Plainclothes, will drop on April 24th via Asthmatic Kitty. 2019 saw the release of the artist’s LP Tomb and a 2021 collaborative album he made with Sufjan Stevens entitled A Beginner’s Mind. De Augustine’s latest album is described as a “multi-year-long journey of healing and renewal.”

The first single from the album, “Empty Shell” features Angelo on guitar/vocals and string arrangements by Oliver Hill (Kevin Morby, Helado Negro).

After collapsing and being hospitalized with an undiagnosed illness in early 2022, the Southern California-based singer/songwriter endured an arduous journey of re-learning how to walk, talk, see, hear, play music, and sing again; abilities most people take for granted. Once he was able to return to music, De Augustine wrote, recorded, arranged, produced, and mixed Angel in Plainclothes at his recording studio A Secret Place. Angel in Plainclothes also marks his first time welcoming others into his creative process for the first time in years. The end result is a reverent album. His most inspired and powerful work yet.

As Angelo explains: “It was the first song written of the batch that would make up the album. I don’t know how to talk about a song like this in a way that wouldn’t cheapen the experience of listening to it. You have to listen to understand.”

To accompany the release Angelo is sharing a short film directed by Ramez Michel Silyan entitled Can I Come Back To Earth?. The film includes a live recording of “Empty Shell,” alongside an original score recorded and produced by Angelo.

“I wanted to make a document of where I am now and an acknowledgement of the years of suffering I have endured. In my life I oscillate between guarding privacy and wanting to share things I have made. This little film feels like the right sized window–small enough for a glance, but large enough to leave behind, showing that at one time I existed on the earth.”

Pre-order Angel in Plainclothes by Angelo De Augustine HERE