Omni is a band that has truly defined their artistic language and has the ability to follow deeper into that language with every project they release. Although the songs have similar tonalities and tropes from their previous albums, this album feels like a real creative high point for the band. Every song is filled with outrageous amounts of textures and melodic guitar playing while still maintaining a pop-centric core to hold the wonkiness together.

The opening track of this record is the clean and hook-filled jam “Exacto,” which has a quirky and curious song structure that sends us on a ride while still keeping us strapped in. The instruments sound incredibly dead and clean, which is definitely on brand for the band’s sound, but the style is even more apparent on this record than before. “Plastic Pyramid” Is one of the odder and more unpredictable moments on the record, with droning synths and ripping guitar passages taking us from section to section with ease and unbelievable tightness. The outro of this song takes a nastier turn than I expected and is one of the more jammier moments on Souvenir. “Common Mistakes” is a short and techy song that showcases the band’s musical chops and songwriting skills at a high level. “INTL Waters” takes us from a darker, more dissonant place in the first part of the song to a totally sick outro sure to open up the pit.

“Double Negative” sounds as if a Gang of Four, Devo and Parquet Courts got together and tried to write a pop banger, In other words, this song totally slaps. Their confidence in their no-rules approach to songwriting feels stronger on this record, especially on songs like this. “PG” Has a very janky and dissonant leading riff that takes us in and out of parts that range from melodic and emotional vocal performances to techno-sounding synth layers buried in the mix. “Granite Kiss” feels like a TED talk in tight and janky jazz fusion-influenced indie rock. It has all the bells and whistles of an omni song but with more unhinged and left-field sections and chord changes.

“Verdict” falls deeper into the vibe of this record without losing the plot once so ever. Featuring pretty backing vocals and more techy and brain-scratching rhythms. ”F1” is a fun little track with a lot of sections. Maybe slightly more than needed in this track, but it’s still a good listen. “To be Rude” has some freaky and rough around the edges guitar playing, which is a cool thing to hear the group do. “Compliment” brings us home with probably my favourite tune off the record and has some of the most earwormy guitar playing on the whole damn thing. They even take on an almost Pink Floyd influence in the latter half of this track, which actually works really well and pushes the group’s sonic palate further than anything they have done before.

Overall, this is by far one of Omni’s cleanest and most well-performed pieces of work. Souvenir is filled with moments fans like myself will cling to for as long as we can.

Pre-order Souvenir by Omni HERE