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May 12, 2025Throughout Animaru, Semones and her band play with dynamics, dramatic pauses, chord voicings, harmonics, and a steady stream of surprises -- the closer is a waltz -- resulting in a memorable debut that's much more likely to delight than challenge.
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May 12, 2025Animaru 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.
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May 14, 2025An album that has clearly been constructed with immense care, ‘Animaru’ makes Mei’s supreme efforts crystal clear.
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May 12, 2025It’s a debut that captures so much of the excitement surrounding her, whetting appetites for the next steps from a potent talent.
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May 13, 2025Few moments on Animaru are conventional and, in a world full of boring trends and rabid overconsumption, we could all benefit from taking a page out of Mei Semones’ playbook.
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May 12, 2025Animaru has no duds but also no true stand-outs, shining most when Semones takes on the unexpected—suggesting a more idiosyncratic artist underneath all the virtuosity and polish.