Live review from 21st Anniversary Festival Day 2:
長夢Endless Dream
幻夢Hallucination
Mist
遺Lost in..
乏Dull
Omnimori’s set journeyed through dream-like textures, post-rock crescendos and emotional extremes. They opened with “長夢 Endless Dream”, a wistful, reverb-soaked track that showcased Eddy’s beautiful, keening vocals. The music was tight and evocative, a fusion of shoegaze, post-rock and dreamy indie that echoed the legacy of Hong Kong acts like Chochukmo and My Little Airport.
It was fitting that Yanyan Pang (Teenage Riot/After-After-Party/Night Ships) introduced them: this was music rooted in the city’s sonic past while reaching for timeless sounds and offering something new.
“幻夢 Hallucination” followed with a super ’90s guitar melody. The vocals leaned into boy band territory, but the instrumentation grounded it in sincerity – especially Harry’s finger-tapped bass lines.
“Mist” was the centrepiece – a sprawling, euphoric post-rock epic. Drawing from Japanese influences and local indie, it built slowly with undulating guitars and soaring vocals. Zach’s drumming was thunderous, with six cymbal crashes leading into a massive bridge. The guitars wailed overhead like celestial signals – it felt like a Prune Deer track made for Clockenflap. This song deserves a huge sound system and a full visual show.
They closed with “乏 Dull”, a post-rock track that took a sharp turn into something darker. A guest vocalist delivered a spoken word section that escalated into full-on screaming – like Mike Shinoda caught in a typhoon. The breakdown was furious, with black metal intensity and rolling drums that felt like a storm breaking over the room. It was cathartic and unforgettable, epitomising this must-see band.
-El Jay
Live review from Sonic Showcase:
Dull (乏）
Hallucination（幻夢）
Endless Dream（長夢）
Lost in..（遺）
Is It Really You by Loathe (Cover)
“Abusive use of reverb and delay” might be Omnimori’s glib Instagram description, but they thankfully bring more sincerity (and talent) than this in-joke concedes. Yes, there’s all the gear – but also plenty of ideas brewing in this retro-facing alt-rock quartet.
There was a smidge of a windswept 90s MV to the satisfying loud/quiet grunge stomp of “Hallucination（幻夢)”, while “Lost in..（遺)” mined the same post-Pumpkins well of discontent to powerful effect, despite a mechanical middle crescendo that lost momentum midway.
The subtler, shoegaze-y moments engaged equally, and will prove more enduring on record. The suitably titled “Endless Dream（長夢)” rode for days on an irresistible two-chord tide, a churning bed of echo as open and intoxicating as the ocean. Featuring an additional guest vocalist, opener “Dull (乏)” may be more self-effacement, but it offered a strong introduction to lead singer Eddy Mok’s dramatic range and versatile delivery – moving between high, low and spoken passages seconds apart.
Closing with a cover of “Is It Really You?” by mid-sized British metal band Loathe was the only misfire, a song both less engaging than their own material, and noticeably less rehearsed to boot.
– Rob Garratt
