Anjimile Releases New Single ‘Rust & Wire’

Today, North Carolina based singer-songwriter Anjimile releases romantic final single ‘Rust & Wire’, from his highly anticipated upcoming album You’re Free to Go ahead of its release this Friday 13 March. ‘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 single ‘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.

Check out ‘Rust & Wire’ HERE or via the player below.

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.

Anjimile will take part in a March residency at the Fuzzy Needle in Durham, North Carolina, presented by Phish on Philm, along with US tour dates for May and June. See below for the full list of live dates, and for tickets and more information, head HERE.

You’re Free to Go will be available from this Friday 13 March digitally, on CD and on standard LP (Green). For more information, and to pre-order, head HERE.

LIVE DATES

RESIDENCY
12 March – DURHAM, NC, USA, Fuzzy Needle w/ Meltdown Rodeo
19 March – DURHAM, NC, USA, Fuzzy Needle w/ Loose Green
26 March – DURHAM, NC, USA, Fuzzy Needle w/ QUAY

TOUR
5 May – ATLANTA, GA, USA, The Drunken Unicorn
6 May – NASHVILLE, TN, USA, The ’58 at Eastside Bowl
8 May – DALLAS, TX, USA, Rubber Gloves
9 May – AUSTIN, TX, USA, Chess Club
12 May – LOS ANGELES, CA, USA, Healing Force of the Universe
13 May – SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Bottom of the Hill
15 May – PORTLAND, OR, USA, Bunk Bar
16 May – SEATTLE, WA, USA, Ballard Homestead
19 May – MINNEAPOLIS, MN, USA, Bryant Lake Bowl
20 May – CHICAGO, IL, USA, Hideout
2 June – PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA, Johnny Brenda’s
3 June – BOSTON, MA, USA, Cafe 939
5 June – BROOKLYN, NY, USA, Union Pool
6 June – WASHINGTON, DC, USA, Pie Shop

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.

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