Minus the Bear's OMNI

Rating: 62

1. My Time - 4:05
2. Summer Angel - 4:45
3. Secret Country - 5:31
4. Hold Me Down - 4:08
5. Excuses - 4:38
6. The Thief - 4:33
7. Into the Mirror - 5:11
8. Animal Backwards - 4:16
9. Dayglow Vista Rd. - 5:10
10. Fooled by the Night - 7:23

My first impression of OMNI is that, if you’re new to the world of Minus the Bear, this should not be your first impression. Now to qualify, that statement sounds more negative than it really is. When I think back to my first impression of MtB, I recall emotions of frustration and annoyance. I was annoyed, not with the material, but with the labels. Minus the Bear is a pretty stupid band name, but it’s nothing compared to the impossibly stupid track names from their debut, Highly Refined Pirates. So why all the nonsense? Well in time, and after catching them live at a hole-in-the-wall bar in Philly, I came to develop a theory. It could have just been immaturity, but I like to think of it as fundamentalist hipster elitism. Think about it, what better way could there be to repel notoriety? It’s not quite as extreme as naming your band Starfucker or Shit and Shine, but the results are similarly off-putting.

“Hey, this song is pretty good. What’s it called?”

“Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!”

Taking the glass as half full, the moral of the story is this: for Minus the Bear, it’s all about the music. Just ignore the fact that the song is called “Hey, Wanna Throw Up?” and enjoy it for what it is. Since that first show, I’ve seen these guys live three more times – once for every album before OMNI. Pirates is still my favorite album, but the more material they have, the more I enjoyed each successive performance. Some bands like Spoon or The Shins are definitely more enjoyable in the studio, but bands like Minus the Bear should be judged by performance. So true, OMNI is not the best first impression, but it certainly makes me want to get back out to a live show.

Lyrically, there’s never been much to talk about. The first words on the first track of their first album are “and then we all bought yachts,” if you can’t take my word for it. Poetry, it is not, but sonically, OMNI hits new heights. “My Time” takes the ever present synth hooks from a supporting role into the foreground while the guitar plays the role of foil. Joe Chiccarelli’s grammy winning experience with The White Stripes and My Morning Jacket lends some of the cleanest production Minus the Bear has exhibited, which goes along way to elucidating the intricate layering of their music. “Secret Country” with its thick bass line and sparkling guitar solo are so much the better for it. Unfortunately, the problem is that, although “My Time” and the first single “Into the Mirror” certainly raise the stakes, the rest of the album more or less craps out. The songs have pretty much always been about how hard/softly Minus the Bear is going to do some ladies, but for the first time, it really starts to get obnoxious. “Should I find you’re not around, I would surely chase you down and lure you in with a lonely sound. Then I’ll have you.” It’s just lazy.

In all my years of listening to Minus the Bear, I’ve never found myself longing for more concise production. It was the messy, hectic chaos of Pirates that I found so captivating, and that made it so easy to really just get lost in the music. On OMNI, it’s damned difficult to forget about what is inherently annoying about Minus the Bear. Even still, as annoyed as I am with tracks like “Summer Angel,” the chorus is still so musically stimulating that I can’t help singing along and even enjoying it. I never thought I’d be the one to say this, but what we need is more jamming and less songwriting. I think I just threw up in my mouth.

Go see them live, please.