by Josef McGuigan (@josp_93)
Omni’s Sub Pop debut represents the group’s best work to date as the band flexes their compositional prowess and demonstrates their growth as songwriters over their first albums. The post-punk edge of their earlier work is still found on Networker, but their songs have a newfound sense of direction and convey a distinct and deliberate feeling of progress. Their frenetic energy has been replaced by a purposeful confidence – Omni have figured out how to be comfortable with who they are, and it turns out, there’s still a lot there to explore.
The combination of catchy and clever guitar and the casual, almost disinterested vocal delivery that Omni are known for is still very much at the center of Networker, and if anything, they have refined these central elements further. The album opener, “Sincerely Yours,” is a tight and familiar lattice of catchy guitars and finds the band at their most Strokes-y. The familiarity is welcome, and Omni wastes no time jumping into driving rhythms that remain playful as they build momentum that doesn’t let up for the rest of the record.
Throughout the album, it becomes clear that guitarist Frankie Broyles is still one of the best in the business as he constantly delivers creative lines that tiptoe gracefully through the tight rhythm section and stick with listeners for days. On “Underage,” one of the best examples of his expertise, Broyles smoothly ties together circular riffs with a natural ease before falling into an effortless chorus that resembles an abbreviated Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix hook. This is certainly a highlight, but the heavy sprinkling of expertly playful guitar fills and hooks are strung through every song on Networker, and these are what really lift the album into a more notable tier.
Omni takes time to step outside of their comfort zone with some slower, more spacious songs with “Genuine Person” and “Blunt Force,” which helps diversify the pace of Networker, making for a more measured and manageable listening experience. The change of pace in these songs, as well as in the title track, provides an opportunity for the band to dabble in bringing more synths to the forefront and incorporate something of a different palette into their familiarly dusty and satisfyingly warm, tape saturated sound.
Networker is an exercise in guitar pop, and one in which Omni has repeatedly proven themselves to be quite competent. Their concise hooks remain their greatest strength, and their latest effort proves that the band can find a balance between their to-the-point earworms and a bit of their looser meanderings – using the contrast to elevate these oppositional sides of their sound. Having such a successful songwriting formula to fall back on seems to have given Omni the freedom to compose a little more freely than they might have previously, and has resulted in the best version of themselves that we’ve seen so far.