Seattle-based indie rock band Minus the Bear’s fourth album, Omni, starts strong. The opening track is intriguing. It begins with a strange video game-esque ’80s keytar. The pop rock chorus is balanced out with quirky synth undertones, promising equally adventurous but palatable tracks to follow. Unfortunately, the album grinds to a severe halt, leaving you painfully bored and unfulfilled.

The vocals and lyrics are generic. Sure, lead vocalist Jake Snider can sing pleasantly enough but it’s nothing special. And most songs are heavy on rhyming couplets and cheesy one-liners like “How you are dressed puts me into a trance.” A few good ones appear later on like, “a city living hard, this ain’t no one-bar-town,” but are padded with repetition to the point of annoyance.

The music does little to counteract the lyrics. At moments Omni sounds like toned down Modest Mouse with its whammy-bar distortion. The album’s consistency lies in the rock and funk elements produced by the electric guitar. But there is something lacking that’s hard to describe. There’s just no spark.

The beginning track sets up certain electronic expectations that are only minimally met throughout the album. The only other highlight is the third to last song “Animal Backwards,” which cleverly starts with rewinded sounds in addition to lyrics likening the love interest to a wolf. It gratifies the electro craving induced by intro track “My Time” while no others do.

Omni fails to hold the average attention span, merely bookended by unique tracks that create the illusion of a successful album. Maybe Minus the Bear should have just released a single with a strong b-side. Sometimes short and sweet is better if you can’t deliver the goods.