Ochi – Tremor EP (Geenger Records)

I have to admit that I waited with anticipation for this material to come out, and judging by the reactions on social media, I am not the only one. Ochi has created a kind of mystique imagery around themselves with a video for their debut single, mainly because this band popped out of nowhere and created a bit of havoc on the regional scene. The debut single gathered some positive feedback from listeners and regional media, so there’s no wonder why I was also intrigued by their sound. For those who somehow missed the news on these pages, Ochi are emanating from Rijeka, Croatia, a town with rich underground music heritage, so I was assured from the start this material sounds like a banger.

Tremor EP represents a debut material by this interesting Croatian quartet. The material consists of three profoundly detailed compositions built by merging several complementary genres in a compact form. Ochi compiles elements of post-hardcore, stoner, sludge, grunge, alternative, emo and applies characteristics of each one of them into their compelling tunes. Every tune contains an intense, suspenseful, melancholic, melodic ambiance, empowered by colossal slabs of nearly fuzzy stoner, sludge, grunge orchestrations. The sheer dominance of post-hardcore aesthetics binds everything together and holds tight until the group decides to loosen the atmosphere a little bit and return to calmy, nearly emo waters.

Ochi thought about every single aspect of their debut material, and right from the start, you get the feeling that you’re listening to skilled musicians. These guys possess all the tools of the trade to write, compose, record, and produce a proper release that will meet all the standards of the contemporary underground scene. Each composition carries a slightly different vibe, but the overall atmosphere is unquestionably irresistibly intense, crushingly energetic, and genuinely melancholic. Tremor carries a settlement between contemporary alternative rock, sludge, and emo sound. Kraj offers smaller chunks of stoner and grunge but liberates generous servings of sludge and post-hardcore. Respiracija kicks in with technically demanding post-hardcore guitar shreds and descends into calmy emo-ish chord progressions, but all of a sudden, more robust sludgy riffs are directly striking listening apparatus.

Even the visual identity represents a pure piece of artistry. The artwork draws the fine line between contemporary art standards and some post-hardcore graphic solutions that were popular a decade or two ago. This material is such a treat both sonically and visually, so you should check these tunes if you’re into flawlessly assembled underground music. Tremor EP is available on all streaming platforms, thanks to Geenger Records. Head over to the label’s website for more detailed information about this release.