Sometimes, the musicians making indie rock forget that their personality, emotion, and artistic vision has to shine through to keep things interesting. Recently a lot of indie bands (without getting into specific names) seem to take you to the same places you’ve been to before. They wear their influences on their sleeves, but not Mei Semones. Her third single, “I can do what I want,” from her upcoming debut album, Animaru, further exemplifies the musical thumbprint she’s been crafting.
The introduction starts with a familiar sound, probably comparable to a lot of what you’ve heard before, but Semones switches it up quickly and takes you to new, unexpected places. Within seventeen seconds the tempo switches up, turning the rhythm into a jazzy, playfully intricate level of musicianship. And the best part, is that it does not let up for the reminder of the song.
There is a level of confidence and personality occurring from beginning to end that makes me believe Mei Semones is about to release not just one of the best albums of 2025, but one of the freshest sounds in a long time. She is going to do it the way she wants to do it, and we should be all ears, ready for her unique and exciting take on indie, bossa nova, jazz instrumentation and magical songwriting.
“I can do what I want” is released ahead of Mei Semones’ debut album Animaru, out May 2nd on Bayonet Records. Pre-order is available here.
Listen to “I can do what I want” below:
MEI SEMONES 2025 TOUR DATES
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 ~
Tue. Apr. 1 – London, UK @ Camden Assembly
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*
Fri. July 11 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Sat. July 12 – Austin, TX @ Parish
Tue. July 15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Wed. July 16 – San Diego, CA @ Quartyard
Fri. July 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Sat. July 19 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Mon. July 21 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
Tue. July 22 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Wed. July 23 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
~ supporting Panchiko
* with John Roseboro
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