Anjimile’s sophomore album The King is just days away from release. So far the musician has shared the title track, “Father,” and “Animal.” Now, the Boston-based musician is back with “Black Hole.”
As in the other released songs, the lyrics here are powerful and striking: “Light of dying stars you thrill me / I believe no man on earth could fill me,” he sings against immersive, surreal instrumentation. “Anything below our love is shy and shadow / Misty as a blanket of snow.”
On Instagram, Anjimile explained that the song “is inspired by my endless fascination with the mystery, majesty and melody of the observable universe and beyond.” It also features James Krivchenia from Big Thief on the drums as well as Justine Bowe on production. Elsewhere on the record, there’s contributions from Brad Allen Williams and Sam Gendel.
“If Giver Taker was an album of prayers, The King is an album of curses,” Anjimile said in a statement. The dark, haunting sound encapsulates this feeling, from the fearless protest track “Animal” to the vulnerable ballad “Father,” which was written “with my parents in mind as a sort of gesture of appreciation and love for everything they did to try and support me before, during, and after I went to rehab and got sober in early 2016,” he said.
Listen to “Black Hole” above.
The King is out 9/8 via 4AD. Find more information here.