We highlighted Mei Semones as an Artist to Watch last year, rooted in the strength of her debut, Animaru—a distinctive yet seamlessly refined blend that marries jazzy guitar, bossa nova grooves, chamber-pop textures, and indie rock muscle. She announced the follow-up, Howl, her first release with Verve/Interscope, and unveiled its captivating title track just last month. Today, she returns with a second single.
“2 Hands” stands as another breathtaking entry, weaving South Asian tabla into Semones’ hybrid musical stew as she articulates her devotion to music itself. “I’ll offer you my two hands/ I’ll offer you my whole heart / Offer my life and it’s still not enough/ This path that continues forever/ As long as I live I know what I need to do,” she sings in both Japanese and English.
The song is accompanied by a video featuring Semones performing alongside her longtime bandmates Ransom McCafferty, Noah Leong, Claudius Agrippa, and Noam Tanzer. “Everyone in my band is such an incredible musician and I feel so lucky and grateful to play with them, and that’s what this song is about!” she explains. “For this video I aimed to capture what it feels like to make music with them, and to highlight how amazing and talented each of them is. Thank you to director Jacob Rodier and the rest of the team for making us look cool.” Watch and listen below.
Howl is slated for release on 1/15 via Verve/Interscope. You can pre-order it here.
