Following the release of their second album, Multi-Task, in 2017, we left Omni taking their stand as members of that post-punk, art-rock upswing that circled around bands like Ought, Preoccupations and Protomartyr, all of which seemed to be continuing the work of giants like Wire, The Fall and early Talking Heads. Networker is the Atlanta trio’s first record for Sub Pop, and is without a doubt a big step forward in Philip Frobos and Frankie Broyles’s songwriting, who turned once again to Nathaniel Higgins to record this new one in their native Georgia.

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.

Pre-Room Inside the World Ought are still the main reference here, but Omni are way less afraid to make their late ’70s and early ’80s inspirations clear, and therefore they sound more interesting than before, with syncopated rhythms and jangly, upbeat guitars taking the edge off. Sometimes a synth even gleams through this tight-stringed net, on what is clearly Omni’s best record yet.