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Jan 19, 2024 Web Exclusive By Frank Valish

Birth of Omni, the fifth album by multi-instrumentalist Nate Kinsella under his Birthmark moniker, is an astonishing artistic statement. Begun during the Trump presidency in 2018 and worked on through the isolation of the pandemic and with Kinsella, nearing his 40th year, married with a newborn daughter and another on the way, Birth of Omni is a lush, exotic, genre-defying, multifaceted work that simply astounds in both sound and scope.

In it, Kinsella examines fatherhood, its effects on personal and spousal relationships, what it means to be male, fear of mass shootings, and reckoning with one’s sexuality. Weighty themes all, but in the context of these 10 songs, they are simply a backdrop to the magnificent sonic cornucopia. Upon first listen, Birth of Omni is overwhelming but in the most wonderful way, written and performed by Kinsella with more than two dozen additional vocalist or musicians. Sounds bounce in and out, sometimes identifiable, sometimes not, funky, soulful, and brilliantly pop, with more than its share of innocence and childlike wonder.

Birth of Omni is an album that requires, nay demands, multiple listens. It’s a marvelous artistic statement by an artist who’s been doing it for years. This is his ultimate work. (www.natekinsella.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10