Following the release of their turbulent debut single last February, I was naturally pretty quick to dub Semantics as a band to watch in the emerging alternative music scene.
Now, the nostalgic post punk four-piece have gone above and beyond with their latest track, ‘Ocean’, a sharply swirling ode to the likes of Joy Division and Interpol. In-keeping with their usual air of dark mastery, the satisfyingly low tones of vocalist Rob Lilley run smoothly in parallel with a subtle screech of guitar and the ever-present pierce of percussion, creating an altogether apt sensation of being submerged in tremulous, nautical depths.
Most importantly, it remains utterly plain that this youthful collective possess the ability to create a truly authentic sense of the original post punk scene. Where a sound as haunting as Semantics’ may appear seemingly out of place among the tiresome pep of pop punk music and its various hybrids, I continue to believe that songs like ‘Ocean’ give me (and my fellow post-punk obsessives) a glimmer of hope for the future emergence of some sombre bands that seem a little more real.
Words by Emily Ingram