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CD review: Minus the Bear ‘Omni’
Minus the Bear
‘Omni’
(Dangerbird)
Grade: B-
Seattle’s Minus the Bear makes a lot of tradeoffs on its fourth full-length album — scenic backdrops for seedy ones, intricate string work for slick production and syncopation for straightforward rhythm.
A few songs find this formula successful. In the album centerpiece “Into the Mirror,” a sharp, jutting synth shrieks over ebullient guitar lines, and singer Jake Snider paints scenes from a glitzy party with brushstrokes blurred by a drug-induced haze.
But most of the album lacks this kind of sophistication. All too often, “Omni” feels like the never ending tale of Snider’s prowl for his next hookup.
Granted, the frontman rarely dropped his sexual references subtly on past albums. But he dropped them with more nuance. Now, instead of observing the “Blinds drawn at twelve noon/With daylight pouring through/Projecting lines on her body,” he can only implore his latest prospect to “Yell out my name, baby.”
These cliches are backed by riffs that a seasoned guitarist like Dave Knudson should be able to play with one hand. You might say this figuratively about most guitar players. But given Knudson’s complex signature tapping style, it might come close to true on songs like “Hold Me Down.” The track glides along with the smooth, dark melody of the band’s early EPs, but lacks any semblance of their innovative guitar work.
Still, “Omni” showcases a band expanding its musical palette. The funky disco groove of “Summer Angel” and the trance pulsations of “Animal Backwards” see Minus the Bear stepping far beyond genre constrictions.
Let’s just hope the next outing regains the band’s bite.
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By corey
May 5, 2010 9:43 PM | Link to this
I think this review is spot on, the stylistic changes from previous Bear albums to Omni are giant. The descritpion of events in what seems to be endless tail chasing sequences is very accurate as well.