After a good old fashioned mind melting, ushered in by the wailing chorus,  Lichens' Omns drifts into subtle loops and delays, trickling piano and minimalistic guitar solos. Rob Lowe (no, not THAT Rob, but rather Rob Lowe of 90 Day Men and the sole musician of Lichens) has created quite a ponderous release. The loops and singular chord progressions echo a sort of lo-fi folk drone release, with an effect that befits an ambient album.  Some may question the album's direction, but much of its charm lies in its expanse. Omns could very well be the soundtrack to some Samuel Beckett grayish desert, nameless with an ever reaching horizon.

The album is only five tracks long, and varies in track times from a little over two minutes to well over eighteen. However, the tracks accompany each other well, and could be rightfully viewed as a piece with multiple movements. The previously mentioned wailing, like a thousand voices harmonizing many miles away, threads many of the movements together and solidifies a palpably dark and misty tone that permeates the album. Isolated guitar solos add to the character, languidly reverberating across the soundscape. This consistency in many ways mimics the album's artwork, which portrays an endless blue sky, unobstructed by foreign objects. Similarly, the music itself is drawn from the same source, in what feels like one single, uninterrupted motion. After listening through the album a few times, it is easy to embrace Omns as a whole experience, and to remember it favorably.

However, Omns may not be the breakthrough album that your local coffee house scenesters have been waiting for. The space that is evident throughout this album creates an interesting scenery, but does not offer much within itself. This is because it allows the listener to mold it within their own mind and make what they will of it, but does not incapsulate its own essence. It has great tone, ambiance and backdrop, but lacks a punch that would put this album over the top.

That being said, the darkness that fills the disc's expanse gives the ambiance its greatest strength. Best listened to in an environment evoking its tone (in a dark empty space, and maybe with a cigarette if you so desire), Omns serves better as an accompaniment to a scene rather than the primary instigator. The listener's determination has much to do with how effectively this album takes hold, but with the right mindset, Lowe can draw the listener into his fold.

Rob Lowe has not created the seminal effort to draw hipsters from all over onto his bandwagon. However, Omns can be a great addition to anyone's library, filling a niche that many often overlook.

-John Parker