Review Summary: There's something I like about it
Mei Semones is a name to watch. Existing somewhere between the intersection of Origami Angel and Laufey, her music is cozy, yet expansive and, while expertly crafted, displays a rare level of excitement and curiosity to expand the imagination.
Animaru may be billed as a debut, but it’s a confident, fully-formed release that contains everything from guitar-noodling dueling scat vocals to math-y stop-starts and sweeping, orchestral swells. Lead single and opener “Dumb Feeling” is a fantastic primer to this world as it effortlessly bounces from its bossa nova verses to a soaring, power-pop chorus’ all while interchanging her delicate vocals between English and Japanese lyrics. This cocktail of genre and mood is a lot to keep up with and take in, but Mei and company routinely leave enough space to breathe and to help familiarize yourself with the melodies so that the end result comes off as the impressive spectacles that they are, rather than discardable novelties. Even when
Animaru leans more heavily in more easily identifiable directions (the fretless bass-heavy coffee house calm of “Donguri” or the closing waltz of “Sasayaku Sakebu”), it feels in service of earnest texturing rather than structuring obvious signposting. This variety is a welcome one, because while every track here qualifies in a vacuum as a dinger, it can be a bit much when taken together in one go. Still,
Animaru is as gorgeous as can be, and undeniably triumphant as a debut. Mei’s music has all the exuberance of a sprint imbued with the mindfulness of sitting with your eyes closed; it fits just about every occasion. “There’s something I like about it” indeed.
