Introducing… Ocre

French alt-rock often has a dissonance and discord to it that makes it stand out. Something is often slightly out of place and for Ocre, it is their droney undead vocal delivery. Ocre is a 90’s post-hardcore rock duo from Clermont-Ferrand (as an F1 fan I hope they are near the circuit) and the phrase comfortably numb could be associated with their music. Embracing a muddy production, the music has a compressed urgency to it, as if the song itself is trying to break free from its muddy production. Ocre’s new single ‘Don’t Worry’ encompasses this with a tense and dramatic instrumental opening setting the scene. From there, the duo break into a calming repetitive mantra for the chorus – telling themselves not to worry – and the two sides clash across the single.

Speaking about the single ‘Don’t Worry’, Ocre said:

It’s a response to “Forever Alone” which closed our first EP and was about mourning. “Don’t Worry” deals with the notion of acceptance. The chorus is like a self-persuasion that “everything will be all right”. I’d written it for people close to me who were going through a complicated time in their lives, and were mainly dealing with depression. This repetition of the refrain ended up working on me. It’s surprisingly a song that soothes me every time it’s played.

I had the exact same experience listening to ‘Don’t Worry’ and found it oddly soothing and meditative as the guitars and vocals crank up. The track is the opening song on Ocre’s forthcoming album ‘So Often Lifeblood Comes From Ashes’. The album is due out on 21st February 2025.

For more information on ‘Ocre’ follow them on Bandcamp.

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