North Carolina based singer-songwriter Anjimile releases the romantic final single ‘Rust & Wire’ from his highly anticipated upcoming album You’re Free to Go, ahead of its release this Friday, March 13th on 4AD. ‘Rust & Wire’ blooms in warm acoustic guitars, synth textures, lush strings, and delicate rhythmic layers; an intimate document of self-expression and emotional resonance.
Anjimile shares: “This is a song about love and lust, blooming in the summertime. It’s about kissing in the warm rain and sleeping with the windows open at night while the breeze floats by. What it feels like when things are easy.”
‘Rust & Wire’ follows February’s single ‘Waits For Me,’ a powerful reckoning on childhood identity which sees Anjimile affirm and sooth his inner child, along with January’s luminous lead ‘Like You Really Mean It’ which overflows with tenderness and vulnerability, and November’s stand-alone single ‘Auld Lang Syne II,’ a tender note-to-self on resilience and hard-fought freedom.
Anjimile – ‘Rust & Wire’
LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE
Official Visualizer by Jayla Smith
Contrasting the intricacy and complexity of The King, You’re Free to Go unfolds organically under the intuitive direction of producer Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Mavis Staples). The album’s songs bloom naturally, grounded in warm acoustic guitars, subtle synth textures, lush string arrangements, and delicate rhythmic layers. Collaborative efforts with musicians Nathan Stocker (Hippo Campus), Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver), and guest vocalist Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) – a personal hero of Anjimile whose music deeply influenced the album even before his involvement – cultivate an exploratory yet intimate atmosphere, perfectly aligned with Anjimile’s nuanced storytelling.
You’re Free to Go, picks up where The King left off, but with its hands open wide – a central question being: what happens when you let go and let love in?
Crafted over years marked by transformation, the album traces vividly the profound complexities of change – from breakups to new love; deep grief and loss to renewal and rediscovery. “The past two years have been a deeply transitional point in my life,” Anjimile explains. On You’re Free to Go, he learns to trust life again.
Melodically, the album evokes a subtle nostalgia for late-’90s alternative pop, seamlessly blending folk sensibilities into inviting, memorable hooks. Anjimile has notably evolved, adopting a more relaxed and expressive approach to his singing, partly due to his ongoing hormonal therapy – a transformative journey he embraces gladly. This newfound vocal depth amplifies the album’s emotional resonance, allowing him to express himself with greater authenticity.
You’re Free to Go is a portrait of transformation — not as a wound, but as an opening. Richly textured, this collection of songs is an honest reflection of life’s fluctuations. It holds space for contradiction and finds liberation in tenderness. As Anjimile beautifully articulates, the album embodies “breathing into the question,” acknowledging that life’s most profound moments often come without clear answers, but rather exist in the gentle tension of uncertainty and discovery. In every note, Anjimile provides space for each listener to reflect and uncover their own truths, while gently reminding us that freedom isn’t the absence of pain, but the courage to love, to ask, to keep beginning again.
You’re Free to Go will be available this Friday, March 13th digitally, on CD and on standard LP (Green). For more information, and to pre-order/save/purchase, head HERE.
Praise for Anjimile
“Rebirth and transformation are recurring themes throughout the record, which opens with an airy, Elliott Smith-style fingerpicked guitar melody and Anjimile singing, ‘There is something like a new being growing on me’ on the title track. ‘Rust & Wire’ and ‘The Store’ are tender, almost breezy love songs, and ‘Like You Really Mean It,’ with its warm synths and insistent beat, is pure, unadulterated pop.” – The New York Times
“Now spinning Anjimile, ‘Like You Really Mean It.’ …a wholesome sugar rush of poprock romance.” – Boston Globe
“Not only does the track {“Like You Really Mean It”} show off Anjimile’s lush, patient vocals, it’s got a pretty fascinating rhythmic structure; his drummer offsets the groove when they arrive at the chorus, almost like the song gets caught between moving too fast and too slow. That momentum really ramps up in the final refrain, complete with some guitar shredding and open hi-hat smashing. It’s a great demonstration of Anjimile’s tasteful ear and his ability to match a song’s subject with its instrumentation…Anjimile is slowing things down with his heartfelt new track ‘Waits for Me.’…It’s a tender meditation on identity and seeking wholeness, emphasized by dueling acoustic and electric guitars and the raw quality in Anjimile’s voice.” – Consequence (Best Songs of the Week)
“{“Like You Really Mean It” is} a glowing, peppy pop-rock cut built around crunchy guitars and a tight drum groove that gives the song a dance-y energy. The shredding solo during the final chorus is worth the price of admission alone.” – FLOOD
“Lead single ‘Like You Really Mean It’ isn’t as straight-up folky as some of Anjimile’s music. It’s got some chugging guitars and a softly insistent pulse in its drums…Anjimile has a knack for making simple concepts feel massive…new single ‘Waits For Me’ expands on the pop-psych concept of healing your inner child, which in Anjimile’s case gets into some real emotionally complex territory.” – Stereogum
“A fully formed, confident voice.” – The Observer
“A celebratory ode to the future is testament to the prowess and deftness of Chithambo’s understanding of life.” – The Line of Best Fit
“An innovative examination of distorted American life.” – Uncut
“The inventive nature of Anjimile is really fascinating.” – NPR Music
“His voice can tenderize your heart as it does on a song like ‘1978,’ but then he’ll turn around and sound positively rakish on ‘Baby No More.’ The glue is a generosity of spirit and fearlessness.” – Rolling Stone
“[“Auld Lang Syne II” is} stunning.” – Stereogum
ABOUT ANJIMILE
Anjimile (ann-JIM-uh-lee) Chithambo has forged a distinctive musical path characterised by unflinching introspection and deep honesty. Emerging from Boston’s vibrant indie scene while studying at Northeastern University, Anjimile captivated audiences with earnest songwriting, delicate sonic textures, and performances that felt like prayer and celebration.
Critical acclaim quickly followed; 2020’s Giver Taker, hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the year’s best albums, positioned him as a compelling voice exploring enduring themes of spirituality, identity, and liberation. With The King (2023), Anjimile intensified his examination of Black and trans existence amid personal and societal turbulence, reaffirming his courageous commitment to navigating discomfort as a means of liberation.
Anjimile
You’re Free to Go
(You’re Free to Go cover art | Hi-Res)
Tracklist
1.You’re Free to Go
2.Rust & Wire
3.Waits For Me
4.Like You Really Mean It
5.Turning Away
6.Exquisite Skeleton
7.The Store
8.Ready or Not
9.Point of View
10.Afarin
11.Destroying You
12.Enough
ANJIMILE ONLINE
Bandcamp: anjimile.bandcamp.com
Twitter: @anjimile
Facebook & Instagram: @anjimilemusic
