Stream: Annabelle Maginnis, ‘Free Debris’

Kevin Bronson on June 11th, 2019

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Annabelle Maginnis’ new EP “Free Debris” is a starkly personal and deeply resonant work that finds the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist talking about coming out and coming into one’s own. Maginnis says of the EP: “Within the project, I feel the weight of hierarchy in efforts to dismantle it, acknowledge the lineage of bravery that has lent itself to my relative comfort in coming out as queer, switch lanes recklessly and dance by my damn self.”

Maginnis sings, writes and plays violin and mandolin in the experimental pop act MetronOhm. For the solo release, the artist worked with a host of collaborators on “Free Debris'” silky electronic soul-pop: B~Smooth, Teddy Roxpin, Smile High Club, CAPYAC and Zhao.

For an EP, it’s album-length in both quantity and emotional heft. It includes the three-part song “Courage,” which meditates on the self-affirmation Maginnis summoned to come out and the fortitude shown by those who have done so before. “Free Debris” is not all heavy — “Hear My Mind” is a sprite finger-snapper for those aforementioned alone dances.

But the most aching moment on the EP is the ballad “Up2U,” which originated as a memo to Maginnis’ father, who opposed the artist’s decision to pursue music. “Ya skepticism’s / Busy givin / Me these schisms / Break my rhythm,” Maginnis sings. In a larger sense, though, it’s a statement on looking up to someone (or looking down on them). It’s a sign of inequality.

||| Stream: “Up2U”