Friday 7/10: Anjimile—"Maker"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song from Boston indie songwriter Anjimile.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new song from Boston indie songwriter Anjimile.
Anjimile—"Maker"
Eli Enis:
Anjimile is a maker, no doubt about it. The first single from their upcoming debut record is a spirited, touching, and remarkably pretty tune. It’s one of those songs that’s literally about writing songs—specifically their perceived purpose on earth to create—and the whole thing is just a list of reasons that back up that claim. Their voice has an immediately engrossing presence, the sort of emotive timbre that could quiet a room with just an acoustic guitar. At some points during “Maker”, they even possess the trembling intensity of Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas. The beginning of the song is subtle, but soon playful instruments (giggling percussion, fluttering guitar, twiddling woodwinds) sprout up from the its folky bedrock, recalling early Dirty Projectors and Florist with equal measure. “I’m not just a boy I’m a man / I’m not just a man I’m a God / I’m not just a God I’m a maker,” Chithambo sings during the hook with an increasingly firm self-assurance. They end the track with the line, “Have you ever seen anything quite like this?” Can’t say I have.
Eric Bennett:
Boston’s Anjimile writes tender, ardent indie that makes the most of sparse arrangements, especially on their early track like 2019’s “Pisces.” Maker”, the first single from their Father/Daughter Records debut Giver Taker, is built up with more complex compositions, but everything is still held together by their rich voice and finger-plucking guitar work. The track has a patient resonance that left me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t expect it to swell like its finish does, but it shows just how far this cut has come from the acoustic version originally released last year on Bandcamp (the same project “Pisces” is on). Fans of everything from Tracy Chapman to Haley Heynderickx to Sufjan Stevens need to give “Maker” several spins.