MMM
OMNI is, for lack of a better word, Minus the Bear's most adult album to date. It doesn't possess nearly as much adventurous riffing as the band's previous releases. It is a lot more balanced, or fine-tuned, in that sense. It seems as though the band has been receiving flak more for their new direction as it's pitted against the familiar sound of their previous efforts. One thing is for certain: OMNI is Minus the Bear's most accessible album yet with a more streamlined sound, one that seems better set for radio airplay.
"My Time" kicks off the album and I still hold that it's the band's equivalent of a club jam -- you could definitely get your freak on to it. It's a synth-heavy song with a snake-like synth riff characterizing the chorus, with lyrics that exude confidence about getting the girl. "The Thief" has a similar pop vibe that sees the band working a funk-type groove, guitar dancing around the drums. Unfortunately, the song sounds more like a Top 40 artist b-side until it reaches the breakdown. The case is quite similar in the electro beat and synth-driven sound of "Animal Backwards," with samples from the synth riff of the preceding track "Into the Mirror."
Keyboardist Alex Rose, bassist Cory Murchy, and drummer Erin Tate expressed interest in jazz, hip hop, r & b, and '70s funk while working on OMNI and you can hear those influences in the relaxed kick of "Summer Angel." This diverse palette of genres is found throughout the album, but it seems as though they didn't pull from it quite enough. In some ways it works, while in others it makes you wish the band had pushed themselves a bit more. It's not that the band completely lost their direction. In fact, the album is mature and has its enticing moments: the rhythms of "Summer Angel," the frenetic guitar in the chorus of "Secret Country," or the instrumental freakout of "The Thief"'s bridge.
There has been some criticism of Jake Snider's lyrics being pretty dismissible and trite on OMNI. I'd have to agree that in a few areas the album features some sorry lines. On "Excuses," Snider sings "When you hear this song/You'll say you knew all along/You're into me too" and "The vibe you send/Sets me out my end/Do you get my vibe too." On "Animal Backwards" he sings "In the reflection, in the reflection/I don't know you that well but I like your energy" and "My new love/Howling in the night outside, in the night outside." But, it's always a risk trying to be poetic when you're writing an entire album based around the theme of human sexuality -- specifically the act of sex itself. Generally, Snider's lyrical collaboration with keyboardist Alex Rose produces ok lyrics but nothing that's ever too noteworthy. But let's be honest, either way Jake Snider's got quite a croon.
Minus the Bear has never really struck me as a band loaded with hooks. The band's strength and defining features have always been their arrangements and instrumentation. Their music has always been plotted out to a T and it's always interesting to hear how the band works together. OMNI continues that tradition, but with less oomph. The band said that they wanted to go about writing solid songs, but in that mission, they took a risk with their sound. It seems as though in their attempt to write such songs, they cut out a bit too much of their character. Whether or not OMNI lives up to critical and fan expectations is clearly debatable, but it's undoubtedly a distinctly Minus the Bear album, one that has its strengths but also a few weaknesses.
BUY: Pick up OMNI right here.
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