Mei Semones – Animaru
Today, Mei Semones — the 24-year-old Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and virtuosic guitarist — announces her first full-length album, Animaru, out May 2nd via Bayonet Records, and releases its lead single “Dumb Feeling.”
In conjunction, Semones announces a North American tour with stops in Chicago, Toronto, Boston, and more. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 7th at 10am local time. Semones is currently on tour supporting Hippo Campus, and a full list of dates can be found below.
Following the “elegant, flexible, wily songs” (New York Times) found on Kabutomushi, Animaru (the Japanese pronunciation of the word “animal”) is the embodiment of Mei’s deeper trust in her instincts. The album is a collection of musically impressive tracks that see Mei sounding more adventurous, more vulnerable and more confident than ever before. “No second-guessing, no overthinking. The way I want to live my life is by doing the things that are important to me, and I think everyone should live that way,” says Semones of her strengthened self-assurance.
Though her music might inherently evoke feelings of romance and softness, the crux of the album lies in Mei and her band’s skillful balance of tension and release. Often within individual tracks, there are moments of pared-back acoustic guitar adorned with Mei’s infectious vocalizations that, in a moment’s notice, transform into orchestral swells of sweeping strings and complex guitar rhythms. Album opener “Dumb Feeling” is a prime example. The track is a bossa/samba blend complete with indie rock sensibilities in the choruses as Mei details her contentment with her life in New York City.
The accompanying video reflects this, showing Mei thriving in the city before meeting up with her band for rehearsal. In Mei’s words, “The ‘Dumb Feeling’ music video is a depiction of a day in my life in the city — running around the city, rehearsing with my band, taking the train back & forth between Manhattan and Brooklyn. I wanted the video to represent what the song means to me — my love, gratitude, and contentment with the city, my friends here, the music we make, and the charming chaos here, like the screeching trains and the rats & pigeons.”
Mei and her five-piece band recorded the album in the summer of 2024 at Ashlawn Recording Company, a farm studio in Connecticut operated by their friend Charles Dahlke. To these sessions, she brought a batch of tracks that, not unlike Kabutomushi, are sophisticated declarations of non-romantic love: love of life, love of family, love of music and her guitar. Animaru exemplifies Mei’s enchantingly wide range as a songwriter and musician, including some of the most challenging and most straightforward songs Mei has ever written.
MEI SEMONES TOUR DATES
Wed. Feb. 5 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony #
Sat. Feb. 8 – Albany, NY @ Empire Live #
Sun. Feb. 9 – Toronto, ON @ History #
Tue. Feb. 11 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore #
Wed. Feb. 12 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater #
Fri. Feb. 14 – St Louis, MO @ The Factory #
Sat. Feb. 15 – La Vista, NE @ The Astro Theater #
Sun. Feb. 16 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom #
Tue. Feb. 18 – San Diego, CA @ The Sound #
Thu. Feb. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern #
Fri. Feb. 21 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory #
Sat. Feb. 22, 2025 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater #
Mon. Feb. 24, 2025 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union #
Tue. Mar. 25 – Dublin, IR @ Button Factory ~
Wed. Mar. 26 – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s ~
Thu. Mar. 27 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club ~
Fri. Mar. 28 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 2 ~
Sat. Mar. 29 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom ~
Thu. Apr. 3 – Amsterdam, NL @ Tolhuistuin ~
Fri. Apr. 4 – Antwerp, BL @ Trix ~
Sat. Apr. 5 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain ~
Wed. May 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. May 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Fri. May 30 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis
Sat. May 31 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room
Mon. June 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
Tue. June 3 – Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
Wed. June 4 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
Fri. June 6 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Sat. June 7 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Sun. June 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Mon. June 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
Wed. June 11 – Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
Thu. June 12 – Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall
Fri. June 13 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
Sat. June 14 – Boston, MA @ Red Room Cafe 939
# supporting Hippo Campus
~ supporting Panchiko
#mei_semones