Networker

Networker comes off as a very compact, low-key, and admirably cohesive work. The songs are tied together in a refreshingly consistent manner, despite numerous subtle shifts in tone and genre.

On the pin-sharp Networker, the Atlanta duo mine similar 80s post-punk fare as on previous records, their guitar strings wound tighter than ever.

When a group can locate the sweet spot where influence meets forward progression, the result is a record as nostalgic as it is relevant. Omni’s Networker is one of these cases.

As with previous Omni albums, the main block is that you walk away without really feeling like you’ve gotten under the band’s skin. While Frobos is consistently an engaging and insightful lead, he is seemingly wary of allowing his commentary becoming more than wry observations.

Networker is like a clock; it never hesitates or loses its pace, and it's constantly ticking. Yet the record feels unhinged, wily and obscure — as if the clock is hanging so askew, it might just fall off the wall. Omni compress this wild energy and wield it with immaculate control.

Still sharp and energetic, their new, more focused sound has lost all of its distracting, hectic frenzy and is now way more refined, making the guitar lashing even harder on the filtered, abrasive vocals.

At their best, Omni’s layered influences amount to a complex and absorbing churn, but here, the band sounds a bit depthless; frenzied guitar riffs can only evoke so much when there’s so little stylistic variation between them.

This record is just “okay” and it seems to lack any key ingredient that could qualify it for any kind of musical greatness.