In many ways, well respected Seattle-based outfit Minus the Bear’s fourth studio record is a bizarre piece of work. Marrying ‘80s M.O.R. with more leftfield, grungier influences, Omni is a Frankenstein’s monster that rarely manages to keep itself from falling apart. The pop sheen of ‘My Time’ lacks any real substance, ‘Hold Me Down’ sounds like Teenage Fanclub covering Tears for Fears and, all told, the album is as cold and lifeless as one of the zombies from Dawn of the Dead.
Key Track: ‘Animal Backwards’