With his buoyant debut album Giver/Taker, Anjimile was undoubtedly one of 2020’s breakout indie stars. Thanks to the album’s success, Anjimile is now armed with new music and a new label. Announcing he’s signed with 4AD, Anjimile shares the thoughtful new single “Stranger.”
The single opens with the emotive strumming of an acoustic guitar as Anjimile’s captivating voice floats in. The instrumentals swirl between nostalgic piano keys and boisterous horns, mimicking the tumult that’s detailed in the song’s lyrics.
In a statement about the new single, Anjimile says “Stranger” is a reflection on all the changes that came with his transition:
“‘Stranger’ is something of a confrontation between my past and present selves in relationship to my trans identity. I started testosterone about 3 or 4 years ago, and it’s been simultaneously liberating and alarming to note the changes to my mind and body over the years. ‘Stranger’ is an admission to myself that, while I welcome all of those changes — especially the deepening effect of testosterone on my singing and speaking voice — it’s still scary and there is a degree of internal ambivalence to my transition. In transitioning I lost, or gave up, a part of myself. And that is hard to reconcile. ‘Stranger’ is an attempt at some semblance of reconciliation, I guess.”
Listen to Anjimile’s “Stranger” above.