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Written and recorded in 50 days over lockdown, Omega was released digitally the day it was completed. Now available on CD with a new, previously unreleased song, "Time to Start Over." The album will be supported by a full tour and a film that will be released day and date. The music is a soundtrack to the global lockdown with hard-hitting rock tracks and subtle themes of resistance and personal survival. It includes a cover of Massive Attack's "Safe From Harm," feat. Beni Webbe (Skindred).
Product details
Language
:
English
Product Dimensions
:
4.92 x 5.59 x 0.24 inches; 2.26 Ounces
Manufacturer
:
Twenty First Century Recording Company
Original Release Date
:
2022
Date First Available
:
April 22, 2022
Label
:
Twenty First Century Recording Company
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[Note: this review was originally written for the release of the Alarm's "War" release which I purchased digitally from Amazon but is now no longer available. When I noticed "Omega going for sale and was excited for another new Alarm release I noticed some of the song titles were familiar and then I compared them to "War" and found out that this is the same album, track listing and order and all. Why the retitling? I don't know. If there are other differences, which I assume there are not as "War" was released in 2021, I'm not aware of them. Just want to be honest in my review here. Enjoy.]
This surprise Alarm album came out of a lot of world turmoil, the pandemic and the 2020 American elections particularly, and was apparently recorded over a two month period. Mike Peters and his cohorts found it refreshing to focus on and pump out about 2 songs a week, giving them more specific focus than they otherwise would have, and it shows in a tight-knit release. It has a few almost hidden nods to past Alarm songs but stands well on its own legs. Someone pointed out that “War” especially pointing with its unusual backward R (by the way it makes it dang hard to track down on Amazon) is RAW backwards, “Raw” being The Alarm’s final album of original members. Does that portend to a coming shake up with the current line up? I don’t think so, and per the constantly working and prolific Peters it’s not about to be their final album either. Before I dive into the songs and deliver individual thoughts/ comments on them I wanted to acknowledge that I purchased this at the same time I picked up Peters’ and Billy Duffy’s Coloursound II and listening to them back to back highlighted some significant differences in my mind. This album, while cohesive, takes far more chances and makes more use of its sound palette than Coloursound’s recent release and from a musical standpoint is far more interesting and engaging. This album also puts the Coloursound album to shame lyrically due to both the delivery and the more succinct focus of its subject matter. That being said I encourage Peters fans to check both of these releases out and continue to marvel at his creative productivity.
Protect and Survive ~ Kicking the album off with solid rock builds. The lyrics smash into the riven political culture surrounding the post 2020 American election and the January 6 Capital riots. It specifically targets Trump’s tweets and repeats some of them. A recurring line in the song is “280 ways to start a war”. It gets repetitive toward the end but rocks solid on its way there. We Got This ~ Almost has a Cult guitar intro line. A stuttered beat keeps this one fresh and, as is Peters’ penchant for anthems, this one supports the drive of “we’ve got this/ we’re all gonna make it/ we’ve got this/ we’re gonna pull through/ we’ve got this/ we’re all gonna make it out alive.” The drawback to this song is the very generic synth melody. Tribes (Stop the War) ~ I think that no matter what side of the political divide you’re on you can get behind this unifying call to stop drawing into tribalism and fighting. Solid track because of a memorable chorus. Still Unsafe ~ One of my favorite tracks on the album due to two reasons: it’s a reworking of The Alarm’s classic “Unsafe Building” and the tone shifts down to an introspective melancholy that is antithetical to the three previous songs. It’s full of self-doubt and, as such, is an important song on an album that addresses and is about so much trauma and upheaval but cries out for putting aside differences and fighting for peace. This balances those sentiments because it recognizes and validates personal reasons why people have come to those places of tension. “When does the car/ run out of fuel?/ When no one keeps an eye/ on the gauge” Crush ~ Is a lament over and a protest against the pandemic lockdowns. It’s a pretty simple rocker but brings back Mike’s harmonica in a small part. Warriors ~ This song makes use of about 3 different guitar sounds or effects (at least) and is the better for it. The warriors of the title that Mike sings about and distinguishes are not the soldiers or men and women in uniform but those who wage war with peaceful, non-violent tactics. “Peace/ is a counter-attack” Fail ~ Similar in a way to “We Are the Light” Peters encourages listeners to “keep on running, never stop…there’s always someone waiting for you to fail.” This is one of the better tracks, at least musically, on the release as it employs a few brief melodies that gives the already lively song a couple more steps. Listen to this one closely to appreciate the various changes inside the song. Gods and Demons ~ The guitar lines pause frequently in this song to add effect and punch which is both effective but the song lacks some of their ability to fill the gaps. It’s okay. A song encouraging introspection and assessment. Safe From Harm ~ This doesn’t sound like The Alarm and that’s probably because it’s a (rare for The Alarm) cover of the Massive Attack song. There are various vocals that give this funky song additional funk and a spot of soul. It’s certainly a fun outing. War (It’s Not Over Yet) ~ The band saves the best for last. Hmmn. This biding song tells the story of the burgeoning pandemic (“March 21, 2020, everything stopped all around me/ they said “stay inside, stay alive”/ protect your family, protect the front line/ protect your children, keep them inside/ stay off of the streets, stay out of the country/ cuz everything’s upside down/ everything is out of control”) and builds with some subtle tension before hitting its strident and defiant tones, captured in solid mid-tempo slightly distorted guitar and rhythm that picks up toward the songs end. The staging of the song—slow, wary moving to a solid firm tone and ending with a speedy rush and shout at the end—demonstrates a bands crafting a song with intention and understanding. How do they save the best for last?
I am sure that for some the lyrics will be distracting, and for those with a sympathy for the conservative political angles some of the lyrics may create some frustration, but if you’re an Alarm fan then you have some more solid songs coming your way and given the lack of fanfare and advertising around this release there will be a lot of fans Stateside and elsewhere who have had no idea of this new music.
This is a remix of The Alarm's "War" album. "War" was made in less than 2 months, and it sounds that way. Mike Peters lyrics are usually much better than this. Musically it breaks no ground. It was an interesting experiment to write, record, and release an album in such a short time, so those shortcomings can be expected. When the time came to remix "War" and repackage it as "Omega" one would hope they tried to improve the songs a bit. But that's not what happened. You get a different mix of the "War" album, and quite frankly I don't really hear much difference. I am a longtime Alarm fan, but this one just falls flat. The artwork and repackaging are nice though.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 7, 2022
Like many other reviewers of this album, I'm a long time Alarm fan. I've listened to this album a few times and basically I'm very disappointed. My main complaint is that the lyrics to most of the songs are too literal and certainly incredibly repetitive. Mike Peters isn't even using different metaphors to get his point across. Musically, the songs sound great, Peters is in good voice and there's no lack of energy on display but It's not until around track 8 that a slightly different theme appears and, by then it's too late, the interest has waned. The Massive Attack cover Safe From Harm works surprisingly well but the less said about the closing track, Time to Start Over, the better!
The Alarm have been one of the most productive bands in the 21st Century despite front man Mike Peters battles with cancer and time dedicated to the associated charity events he throws himself into. The guy is such a positive force. Omega is the latest Alarm album (their 3rd in 5 years) and was written and recorded in 50 days early 2021 during the pandemic. It was initially released as a digital download only but has now been released on CD and vinyl. Given the time of the writing and recording the themes that run through the album seem to be pandemic related and a lot of the songs portray the anxiety of so many people during that time. Opening track Protect And Survive really sets the tone and what follows is a wealth of emotions such as anxiety, fear, hope, positivity and a fierce determination to come out the other side, something Mike Peters has plenty of experience of but in a different context, I would imagine. It's a genuine snapshot of the time recorded for posterity. There are some real highlights on here too. For me three tracks stand out, 'Still Unsafe', a beautiful brooding narrative of the eternal, internal ticking time bomb. 'Fail' is the pick of the rockier tracks with an infectiously catchy bouncy chorus effortlessly switching to reggae inspired verses led by hooky guitars and positive in the face of adversity vocals. 'Safe From Harm' is an additional track not part of the original download and what a track it is. Originally written and recorded by Massive Attack, The Alarm have taken a brooding, slightly reflective groove and fired some serious adrenalin into it. The result is to paraphrase the lyrical hook, Serious, Infectious and Dangerous. Benji Webbe is guest vocalist. The album closer 'Time To Start Over [H.N.Y]' leaves us all hopefully coming through, reaching the other side still in tact with typical Mike Peters positive grit and determination. He is so much more than that though, as he energises others and he does so with thought, reflection, intelligence, heart and compassion. An album of it's time. A serious statement of it's time. Great album.
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