Omni

**OMNI** Ten years on, Omni’s ‘Deluxe’ is a bit of a paradox; It’s an island of a record with a fully formed untethered-to-any-scene unique quality but I hear its influence everywhere in the art punk underground. There are countless bands that have mined inspiration from the LP’s cerebral pop cool, single string riffs, syncopated hooks, and crispy mid-fi production style. Perhaps in 2016 when Omni cheekily named the album ‘Deluxe’, they knew they had a classic on their hands. The band was poking fun of the streaming era marketing tactic where artists re-enter the algorithm via a ‘deluxe’ expanded version of an album right after the original is released but ironically, ten years later Omni’s debut is a genuine classic and is being re-released with a bonus disc of B-sides, outtakes, and demos. Omni began as a way for Philip Frobos (bass + vocals) and Frankie Broyles (guitars + drums + keys) to practice creative spontaneity in contrast to the slower meticulous methods their then other bands employed. One fateful night in 2013, the then-roommates devised an Eno-inspired creative game: Would it be possible to write an entire song (arrangement + lyrics, etc.) all in one three hour night session? Whereas most bands begin sculpting a riff or progression brought in by one member, Omni revelled at the chance to begin each songwriting session with a true tabula rosa with no goal in mind except trusting the process. These sessions often began with a melodic bass line that was then quickly complemented by syncopated pointillist guitar (Frankie almost never voices full chords on guitar in Omni). Philip would then retreat to a quiet area to write lyrics as quickly as possible while Frankie worked on writing and recording the drum parts. Seeking the definitive by chance, any accidents that happened in the takes became baked into the song’s arrangements; An extra measure here or resting a beat too long there forced the band to come up with creative musical solutions. The first song written using this method was the ultra catchy ‘Eyes on the Floor’ which tellingly has a lyric about an unpleasant experience with a previous musical collaborator; it’s as if the lyric is exorcising previous negative creative experiences as the music itself is bouncing with a calm confidence created by the epiphany of Philip and Frankie’s newfound stress-free dedication to speed and trust. What’s remarkable is how fully formed the band’s signature sound appeared out of the gate; hooky laid back vocals delightfully dance above a bouncy rhythm section and spiky overdriven single string guitar lines that hit the sweet spot between abstraction and pop. The economic songwriting betrays a true sense of virtuosity; The power duo explodes with melodic lines and clever counterpoint that is far removed from the atonal motorik stomp of many of Omni’s peers in the current art rock underground. Frankie is truly one of his generation’s most unique and creative guitar players; he always sounds like himself even when assimilating disparate influences. Often labelled post-punk, Omni was never particularly angry or intense. The disc evokes classic art punk and new wave but the band also adds dashes of Flying Nun style Kiwi pop, 70’s funk, and even classic rock into their distinct minimalist palette. ‘Orange Juice, late Velvet Underground, Berlin era-Iggy Pop were all touchstones for my vocal melodies’ says Philip. His impressionistic lyrics betray a literary ambition (Philip is also a novelist, his 2021 book ‘Vague Enough to Satisfy’ depicts a fictional band touring through Europe). The words of the songs are often tied to a particular set piece such as the romantic dramatic situations in ‘Plane’ (set in an erotically charged airplane) or ‘Earrings’ (set in a lover’s kitchen). This approach, surely aided by their speedy writing, betrays strong subconscious desire but also feels like one is hearing excerpts from a collection of short stories where the listener is only afforded a sliver of a glimpse from a larger fully formed narrative world. Perhaps it’s the Georgia gestation doing some associative work but this abstract literary approach reminds me of the best writing of Michael Stipe ( R.E.M.) and Vanessa Hay (Pylon). Ironically, Omni vocals are more audible in the demos than the finished record. This is partly because the band was heavily inspired by the demo-sounding quality of classic records by Shoes, the Monochrome Set, and Women. Close listening to the demos (recorded 2013-2016) on the expanded second disc reveals some subtleties I’ve overlooked in the ten years I’ve been listening to the record. Lovely overdubs leap out of the speakers such as Frankie's twelve-string guitar in the final moments of ‘Wednesday Wedding’ and the clanking piano hook at the end of ‘Eyes on the Floor’. The bonus second disc also includes the 2017 7-inch ‘Fever Bass/Thesis’ as well as two previously unreleased tracks ‘Loud Talking’ and ‘Coliseum’. The latter is especially revealing considering it’s by far the band’s most dissonant and brooding track, reminiscent of Preoccupations and early Sonic Youth. Its exclusion from the original LP is a testament to the careful curation of the Omni sound and world (Frankie is also the architect of all of the band’s retro-futurist graphic design). In 2016, Omni signed with Chicago’s Trouble in Mind Records and released ‘Deluxe’. The band soon found themselves playing to rapturous audiences in the states and Europe, thanks to the brilliant singles ‘Afterlife’ and ‘Wire’. Omni followed up ‘Deluxe’ with the equally inspired ‘Multi-task’ (written speedily before ‘Deluxe’ was even released) and eventually the expansive and captivating LP’s 'Networker’ and ‘Souvenir’ on Sub Pop. Frankie and Philip are currently working on their fifth album Presented by Zebulon. This is a 21+ event