Brooklyn singer-songwriter and guitarist Mei Semones has announced her new EP, Kabutomushi, which will arrive on April 5 via Bayonet Records and follows up her 2022 EP, Tsukino. Kabutomushi showcases Semones’ rich blend of jazz, bossa nova and math rock steeped in her virtuosic guitar playing and sentimental lyricism sung in both English and Japanese. The title of the EP translates to “rhinoceros beetle,” and it refers to fond childhood memories of catching the insect while visiting her grandmother in Japan.
In conjunction with the EP announcement, Semones released a new single titled “Inaka,” with an accompanying music video. The indie-rock track’s instrumentals distend and swirl around Semones’ straightforward vocals in a mesmerizing haze. She sings, “If I’m with you I don’t care where we are / In the country by the ocean on a farm / I would move to the middle of nowhere if I’m with you.” A rippling blend of orchestral strings and guitar lay beneath the romantic lyricism, melding into a dulcet portrait of young love.
Listen to “Inaka” and check out the EP artwork and tracklist for Kabutomushi below.
Kabutomushi Artwork:
Kabutomushi Tracklist:
Tegami
Wakare No Kotoba
Takaramono
Inaka
Kabutomushi