Animaru
| Animaru | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 2, 2025 | |||
| Studio | Ashlawn Recording Company, Connecticut | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:49 | |||
| Label | Bayonet | |||
| Mei Semones chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Animaru | ||||
| ||||
Animaru is the debut studio album by American indie rock musician Mei Semones. It was released on May 2, 2025, by Bayonet Records.[2][3]
Background
The album, recorded by Ashlawn Recording Company in Connecticut, was preceded by Semones' 2024 EP, Kabutomushi.[4] Animaru's lead single, "Dumb Feeling", was released on February 4, 2025.[2] The album features ten songs ranging between two and six minutes each, with Semones singing in English and Japanese.[1] The title of the album is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of "animal".[1] It incorporates elements of J-pop, bossa nova, and indie music.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| Clash | [5] |
| Paste | 7.6/10[6] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[1] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.1/5[7] |
Marcy Donelson of AllMusic remarked, "Throughout Animaru, Semones and her band play with dynamics, dramatic pauses, chord voicings, harmonics, and a steady stream of surprises."[3] Sputnikmusic's Dakota Foss described the album as "gorgeous as can be, and undeniably triumphant as a debut," rating it 4.1 out of five.[7] Christopher Connor of Clash Magazine referred to it as "an exhilarating, eclectic offering that shows a maturity far beyond someone releasing their first album," assigning it a rating of eight out of ten.[5] Paste rated it 7.6 out of ten, stating "Few moments on Animaru are conventional and, in a world full of boring trends and rabid overconsumption, we could all benefit from taking a page out of Mei Semones' playbook."[6] Pitchfork gave the album a rating of 7.5, noting that "Animaru has no duds but also no true stand-outs, shining most when Semones takes on the unexpected—suggesting a more idiosyncratic artist underneath all the virtuosity and polish."[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dumb Feeling" | 3:10 |
| 2. | "Dangomushi" | 3:19 |
| 3. | "Tora Moyo" | 2:51 |
| 4. | "I Can Do What I Want" | 3:00 |
| 5. | "Animaru" | 2:41 |
| 6. | "Donguri" | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Norwegian Shag" | 4:02 |
| 8. | "Rat with Wings" | 4:40 |
| 9. | "Zarigani" | 4:33 |
| 10. | "Sasayaku Sakebu" | 5:58 |
| Total length: | 37:49 | |
Personnel
Credits for Animaru adapted from Bandcamp.
- Mei Semones – guitar, vocals, songwriting
- Noah Leong – viola
- Claudius Agrippa – violin
- Noam Tanzer – bass
- Ransom McCafferty – drums
- Charles Dahlke – co-producer, recording, and mixing
- Heba Kadry – mastering
References
- ^ a b c d e f Lobenfeld, Claire (May 12, 2025). "Mei Semones: Animaru". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ a b Brodsky, Rachel (February 4, 2025). "Mei Semones Announces Debut Album Animaru: Hear "Dumb Feeling"". Stereogum. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ a b c Donelson, Marcy, "Animaru – Mei Semones", AllMusic, retrieved May 14, 2025
- ^ Zee, Michaela (May 5, 2025). "Japanese-American Singer Mei Semones Blends Cultures — and Languages — on Her Debut Album Animaru". Variety. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ a b Connor, Christopher (May 1, 2025). "Mei Semones – Animaru". Clash Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Matt (May 13, 2025). "Mei Semones Resists Conventionality on Animaru". Paste Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ a b Foss, Dakota (May 4, 2025). "Review: Mei Semones – ANIMARU". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 14, 2025.