White Powder, Black Power
THE SEMIS
(Myspace.com/thesemis)
The Semis have been blasting local audiences with their sludgy brand of intense alt-rock for the past five years or so. The Billy Summers-led power trio starts its new EP, White Powder, Black Power, with an aural assault that sounds as if 20 guitars and a couple of chainsaws are being channeled through a single mic. Staying just above the fray is Summers' detached vocal, which seems to be speaking to the simple joy of losing oneself in the face of melting riffage. In addition to the dark-hued rockers, there's the "Walk This Way"-style funk of "The Waves" — an Aerosmith-meets-Velvet-Underground ditty about rock 'n' roll songs no longer being fun. A fine representation of a Bay area fave. 3 stars
This article appears in Nov 21-27, 2007.