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Post Trash | Omni - “Souvenir” | Album Review

Posted 02/14/2024

Post-punk is a disputed term. It’s never been an easily definable category of music, but occasionally a band comes along, and whether deliberately or not, thoroughly nails all perceived aesthetics of the genre. Altanta three-piece Omni are one such band, though it’s evident they’re doing more than just purely making an aesthetic statement. Since 2016, they’ve been cooking up the most engrossing post-punk (by way of Television and Devo), using only the basic ingredients; Frankie Broyle’s sophisticated guitar lines carefully woven through an immaculate rhythm section, with Philip Frobos’ understated vocal that tries mostly to stay out of the way.

Souvenir is their second LP on the Sub Pop label and fourth overall. It has that same disciplined, musical excellence we’ve come to expect from them, and the ideas on here remain as exquisite as ever. It’s been over four years since their last (and strongest) album Networker, and some subtle adjustments have been made. A few surprises lay in store for those who haven’t yet heard the album’s preceding singles. Opener is lead single “Exacto,” released last November, and straight away the first noticeable distinction is Frobos’ vocal which now, rather than staying out of the limelight, is propped up much further in the mix. This gives an impression of things being more fleshed out. It works, giving the track some contemporary undertones while adding density.

Friend of the band, Izzy Glaudini from LA post-punk outfit Automatic features on both “Plastic Pyramid” and “Verdict”. The former was written meticulously; the band experimenting by tearing the song to pieces and then pasting it back together again a number of times to see what kind of arrangement would work best. Every song on Souvenir has an arrangement that is somewhat creative. “Granite Kiss” is a bundle of energy, jumping and jolting hyperactively in alternating time signatures. When Frobos nonchalantly depicts an odd romantic scene (“you came in for a kiss on the cold granite surface”) it makes for something one could only describe as “classic Omni”. On “Double Negative” there’s an arguably more masculine quality than anything we’ve heard before; guitars fervently swaggering, showing off their weight, just on the right side of self-parody.

Production-wise there’s still more ground being broken; more compression used on the master channel, more synth sounds explored outside of just piano and more guitar pedals pressed; mainly in the form of chorus. There’s more stylistic variation, but it rarely feels overstuffed. They’ve successfully expanded their sound without sacrificing any of their idiosyncrasies. All of this is exactly the kind of shift we’ve been yearning for in Omni’s music.

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