Mei Semones is back and this time it’s to share a new single, “2 Hands,” from her second album, Howl, out January 15, 2027 via Verve/Interscope Records. It’s her first album for the label, following her 2025 debut, Animaru, which came out on Bayonet. 

You can grab your tickets to see Mei Semones live here. 

“2 Hands” is the second single from the album and follows the title track. It arrives with a music video directed by Jacob Rodier. Watch it here: 

Where “Howl,” the records title track is a love song, “2 Hands” is about committing her life to music. Semones sings in both Japanese and English, and the song is the first of hers to use tabla, an addition suggested by drummer Random McCafferty. The video was shot in the Bronx in New York, and it features Semones with her longtime bandmates: McCafferty, violist Noah Leong, violinist Claudius Agrippa, and bassist Noam Tanzer. Semones said she feels “so lucky and grateful to play with them,” and the song is about exactly that, how talented all of the members of the group are in their own right. 

Howl was recorded at Power Station in New York, a studio that’s hosted sessions for Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, and Tony Bennett as well. Where Semones debut record Animaru celebrated her independence and the different kinds of love around her, Howl turns it’s head towards the complexities of growing up, including difficult memories, fleeting joys, and ordinary moments that carry emotional weight. The title track arrived September 30 with a video shot in Tokyo and was directed by Takuto Shimpo, in which Semones plays a convenience store worker who chases her floating guitar before turning into a wolf-girl hybrid. 

Semones, who is 26 and based in Brooklyn, writes songs that move between English and Japanese, drawing on jazz, bossa nova, samba, and math rock. She heads out on a North American headline tour in February that includes some of her largest headline shows yet. See the full run of dates down below. 

Howl is out January 15, 2027. Pre-order it here, where a "Firework" colored vinyl variant and signed items are also available. Full 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 2027 Tour Dates:

02/24 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
02/25 Portland, ME @ SPACE *
02/26 Montréal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount *
02/27 Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall *
03/01 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark *
03/02 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
03/03 Cleveland, OH @ Mahall's *
03/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
03/06 New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
04/09 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
04/10 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
04/11 Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
04/13 Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room
04/15 Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre
04/16 Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs
04/17 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
04/20 Tucson, AZ @ La Rosa
04/21 San Diego, CA @ Music Box
04/23 Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre
04/24 San Francisco, CA @ The Castro
04/26 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
04/27 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04/28 Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
04/30 Boise, ID @ Shrine Basement
05/01 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby
05/02 Denver, CO @ Bluebird
05/04 Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
05/05 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
05/06 Lexington, KY @ The Burl
05/07 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
05/08 Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall *

* = w/ aron!