EP REVIEW: SemiFiction - “To Those Who Said Goodbye”
SemiFiction is one of the Best Up And Coming Post-Hardcore bands In The Scene
by Jesse Smith
Swancore is definitely a breed of its own when talking about the post hardcore genre and man does it slap every time. Coming out of Colorado is an up and coming post hardcore band called SemiFiction that embodies the sound of the swancore subgenre. With progressive guitar licks and soulful singing, SemiFiction absolutely rips and they are back with a brand new EP titled “To Those Who Said Goodbye”. There is a lot to unpack so let's jump in!
Artwork for “To Those Who Said Goodbye” EP
Your opening track is your first impression and sets the tone for the rest of the album, and they chose the perfect song to kick off. “You were once the breeze that carried me” opens the album with fancy guitar riffs that sound overwhelming yet creates the base of the beautiful melody the vocalist picks up. For the first 1.5 minutes, the vocals are nice and slow, like a gentle breeze just blowing around while the music in the background is organized chaos. But, around 1:30 the vocalist turns up the energy and starts to sing in spanish! I think bilingual songs always have that wow factor and this is no exception! If the first song is the first impression, then at that moment I was hooked and wanted to see what the rest had to offer! This track was one of three singles that lead up to this release. Tracks “But I’ll Still Think Of You” and “Now You Only Bring Silver Omens” were the other singles that you may have heard before. Following the same sort of structure, “Now You Only…” has a stronger Saosin vibe while “But I’ll…” has a more fast paced and progressive structure. In that song, they start off with a quick sound clip which I’ve lived with since I was a teenager. My favorite song on this EP also starts with a sound clip and is one of the newer tracks on the EP titled “Through Man Made Storms” but this song is different from the rest. The guitars are dialed back but create this beautiful melody while the drums take the forefront in the beginning. The sound clip is intertwined with the music and it creates such a cool atmosphere. Moving into the song a little more, you notice a huge latin influence which adds a different dimension to the band musically that I really vibed with!
Overall, SemiFiction is one of the best up and coming Post Hardcore bands coming up in the scene right now. They have full grasp on their musical identity and aren't afraid to take risks. Post Hardcore isn’t for everyone, and is sometimes hard to follow, but SemiFiction has a way of keeping you engaged without overwhelming or over stimulating the listeners making it way more palatable. With a genre as saturated as this, standing out for all the right reasons is a huge game changer, and I think they nailed it with this EP.