Single out now: Mei Semones "Howl"
Today, Mei Semones announces her new album, Howl, out January 15th, which will be her first release for her new label home, Verve/Interscope and shares its lead single/video, “Howl.” In conjunction, she announces a North American headline tour. At 26, the Brooklyn-based Semones—already named an “Artist to Watch” by The New York Times and Stereogum, the “Best of What’s Next” by Paste, and an “Artist You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone and The FADER—has developed a sound that brings together jazz, bossa nova, samba and grungy math rock without treating any of them as separate worlds. Her bilingual songwriting works in much the same way. Few songwriters weave between languages as naturally as Semones does, slipping between English and Japanese within the same song — sometimes the same line — and letting both languages become part of the music itself. As she puts it, writing in both languages "felt more true to myself."
Where Semones’ 2025 debut, Animaru, celebrated her independence and the many forms of love surrounding her, Howl moves further into the complexities of life and growing up: the difficult memories, the fleeting joys, and the ordinary moments that can carry surprising emotional weight.
On the night of the Fourth of July, 2025, fireworks over Semones' Brooklyn block were competing with something more primal. Up and down the street, dogs answered each burst with a long, ragged howl of their own. Semones, alone in her apartment with her guitar while the rest of the city celebrated outside, found she didn't mind the solitude. The howling struck her less as a cry for help than as a kind of greeting: proof that she was never really by herself, not with music always keeping her company. By morning, she had the seed of today’s single, the title track for Howl. Semones comments, "sometimes making music feels like howling into the universe. I make music because I like it, because it feels instinctual — but it also connects me to people close and far. I like to think of this music as my howl.” The song’s accompanying video was directed by Mei’s longtime collaborator Takuto Shimpo and filmed in Tokyo.
Semones comments, “I was so happy I got to shoot the ‘Howl' music video in Tokyo with Takuto Shimpo and his team! My idea for the video was ‘convenience’ store worker by day, guitar-obsessed werewolf at night," and I love how Takuto was able to perfectly bring that idea to life in this video.”
Joining Verve, in partnership with Interscope, for her sophomore album marks a full-circle moment for Semones, who was introduced to jazz in high school and studied guitar at Berklee College of Music. The label’s storied catalog includes landmark recordings by John Coltrane, Bud Powell, and João Gilberto, alongside essential work by Charlie Parker, Thelonoius Monk, and Wes Montgomery. Seventy years after its founding, Verve remains the home for artists who treat jazz as something to build on rather than preserve—and Semones, the newest name on the roster, arrives as proof the tradition still has somewhere new to go.
Howl was recorded at Power Station, the historic Manhattan studio that hosted landmark sessions for artists from Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie to Tony Bennett. The songs’ arrangements come alive through the dynamic chemistry of Semones' full ensemble. Her voice and guitar remain at the center, but viola player Noah Leong, violinist Claudius Agrippa, bassist Noam Tanzer, and drummer Ransom McCafferty create a wider musical landscape around them. Even with this lush instrumentation, there is an understated intimacy that reflects her broader approach across the record. For Semones, music does not need a dramatic breaking point to matter. Like the dogs whose howls inspired the album’s title, she simply answers the world in the language that comes to her most naturally.
Howl will be available in an exclusive “Firework” vinyl along with additional signed items, now available to pre-order here.
Semones will embark on an extensive North American tour kicking off in February. The tour finds her playing some of her largest headline shows yet. Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale Friday, October 2nd at 10AM local time.
Howl Tracklist
1. Howl
2. 素直になりたい
3. 2 Hands
4. Akumu
5. Chichibu
6. Towards Manhattan
7. Senro
8. Hoteru
9. Korokke
10. Monster
11. Kira Kira
Mei Semones Tour Dates (New Dates in Bold)
- Thu. Oct. 15 - New York, NY @ Lincoln Center
- Wed. Feb. 24 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
- Thu. Feb. 25 - Portland, ME @ SPACE *
- Fri. Feb. 26 - Montréal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount *
- Sat. Feb. 27 - Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall *
- Mon. Mar. 1 - Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark *
- Tue. Mar. 2 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
- Wed. Mar. 3 - Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s *
- Fri. Mar. 5 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
- Sat. Mar. 6 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
- Fri. Apr. 9 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
- Sat. Apr. 10 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
- Sun. Apr. 11 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
- Tue. Apr. 13 - Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
- Thu. Apr. 15 - Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre
- Fri. Apr. 16 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs
- Sat. Apr. 17 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk
- Tue. Apr. 20 - Tucson, AZ @ La Rosa
- Wed. Apr. 21 - San Diego, CA @ Music Box
- Fri. Apr. 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre
- Sat. Apr. 24 - San Francisco, CA @ The Castro
- Mon. Apr. 26 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
- Tue. Apr. 27 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
- Wed. Apr. 28 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
- Fri. Apr. 30 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Basement
- Sat. May. 1 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby
- Sun. May. 2 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird
- Tue. May. 4 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
- Wed. May. 5 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
- Thu. May. 6 - Lexington, KY @ The Burl
- Fri. May. 7 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
- Sat. May. 8 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
* = aron! supporting
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