EP Review // Semantics
Great bands are everywhere. Great bands with great style are far and few. Some may say that the only thing that matters is the music and not the clothes or the aesthetic but even the most rag-tag looking band has to chose one album cover over the other. It's extremely satisfying when a new band you discover also happens to dress really really nice, especially today where the norm is snapbacks, faded old 90's throwaway shirts and colourful socks with bananas and strawberries on them.
This band is mature, and on point, they have music that turns heads and they look like they run their own record label. Post-Punk act Semantics are from Birmingham, England and we'll be listening to and reviewing their self-titled EP which was released last summer. Consisting of Bridie Green (Guitar), Josh RB (Bass), Simon Lees (Drums), Rob Lilley (Vox & Guitar) the band first formed back in 2014 and released a compilation of dark, atmospheric, yet catchy tunes two years later. This EP, and the band itself, sticks out from today's crowd of surf-punk and folk-rock influenced acts and we absolutely love it, here's our review//
Semantics introduces itself with 'Games', a dark and groovy Post-Punk tune. An immediate homage to Carlos D., whom needs no introduction, the bass in this track bounces and weaves from start to finish, our props to Josh RB as his exceptional bass playing shines throughout this entire release. The deep baritone vocals, behind the scenes guitar playing, and driven drum work come together to form an atmosphere of despair, an excellent track ready to be added to your favourate Post-Punk playlist. During the writing of this review we heard the EP dozens of times, to catch all the nuances and to really absorb the atmosphere the band presents us with. 'Limits' didn't initially catch our ear but it quickly became a favourate due to it's hidden intricacies which we missed in the first couple of listens, it's a song full of atmosphere and emotion, Rob Lilley's vocals/writing stands out as the rest of the band takes a step back and gives him room to breath, or rather, room for us to really pay attention to what he's saying. An EP that constantly comes at you with a wall of sound is great and all but we appreciate some space. 'Ocean' is where we think the guitar playing really stands out, although the bass intro's the song similar to 'Games' its Rob L. and Bridie Green's guitar playing that really stand out here. One hits you with a straight over-driven "indie" sound while the other fills in the space with a fine dose of reverb and delay. The final song of the EP 'My Detainer' seems to be the perfect mix of everything else that came before it. It has a funky and interesting bass backed by Simon Lee's 'not too flashy but just right' drumming. ​The guitar work during the chorus reminds us of Chris Urbanowicz or Daniel Kessler and the vocal work here is their best.
Semantics is currently in the studio working on their second EP.
Listen to their self-titled here:
