Beluga – Oceans Apart EP (Geenger Records)

Christmas came earlier for all the admirers of post-rock music, thanks to Beluga. This Croatian trio recorded such an outstanding extended play, released a couple of days ago by unstoppable Geenger Records. So, if you think you will lack some good instrumental post-rock music during the holiday festivities, then you’re wrong. After all, there’s one more reason to check out this creative band, because they released a set of five videos from the uKleTt sessions right before the EP release. All in all, the entire package is such a nice treat for the visual/listening apparatus, and it will make your Christmas holidays even sweeter.

Oceans Apart house four detailed post-rock compositions flawlessly assembled by three skillful musicians. The first and most important thing is an outstanding sound quality that follows all the contemporary trends in music production. Oceans Apart unquestionably shine even brighter because of the superb music production, and you’ll hear every arpeggiated chord progression, guitar shred, riff, melody, harmony, bassline and beat without a fuss. Like many post-rock groups out there, Beluga also relies upon echoic ambiance, achieved by adding effects like delay, echo, and reverb on instruments or during post-production. Still, these guys know what they’re doing, and the atmosphere is not overwhelmed by these effects.

The guitar continuously levitates between clean, semi-distorted, and heavily distorted sonic maneuvers thoughtfully arranged to satisfy even the pickiest post-rock fans. Every melody and harmony sound ear-appealing, catchy, and you wouldn’t get bored by these impressive sonic maneuvers even if you listen to them repetitiously over and over again. The bass guitar gives tremendous support to a guitar and drums by delivering wisely assembled low-end tones. Each bassline goes perfectly with the beforementioned guitar works. The rhythm section makes everything even more interesting with detailed rhythmic sequences, various accentuations, fills, and other drumming acrobatics. It’s more than crystal clear that Beluga invested a lot of great ideas while composing these four numbers because each one of them sounds divine. The subtle presence of psychedelic rock, cinematic ambiance, and slightly shoegaze atmosphere decorate these compositions even more. Beluga, without any doubt, sounds fresh, unique and goes far beyond contemporary post-rock. Therefore, I highly advise you to check out Oceans Apart, which is available for listening on all streaming services.