It’s a crying shame that so many talented bands go unnoticed. Some of the time it’s the label that they are on’s fault for not doing the work to get these bands to the level they should be at. And sometimes the band is just ahead of their time, that the people out there just can’t quite grasp it. Ours is a perfect example of all that. In 1997, Jimmy Gnecco restarted Ours again after a few year break and quickly drew the attention of many labels industry. Ours signed with the now defunct DreamWorks Records and after four years,  finally released their major label debut the wonderfully masterful Distorted Lullabies in 2001. This album was produced by Steve Lillywhite (early U2 producer). Distorted Lullabies was met with mixed reviews (probably my journalists that just didn’t get it) but led to many successful tours with bands such as The Cult and Pete Yorn.  The first single off the album “Sometimes” was a powerful track.  Other wonderful songs from the album include, “Medication,” “Fallen Souls,” “Drowning,” and “Bleed.” In 2002 Ours released their follow-up, Precious. Precious featured a more stripped-down sound and received much more positive reviews. I find that to be odd considering that Distorted Lullabies is a much better album than Precious. Songs like “Leaves,” “Realize,” “In A Minute,” and “Disaster In A Halo” are all stand outs. There is even a really good cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale.” In 2004, Jimmy Gnecco relocated from New Jersey to Los Angeles to work with Rick Rubin for a upcoming album. The end result was the beautifully masterful Mercy…Dancing For The Death Of An Imaginary Enemy, which was released in 2008. This album stands out not just for the songs, but for Jimmy’s hauntingly, soulful voice, He has always had comparisons to Jeff Buckley, but definitely comes into his own on this album. Songs like “Mercy,” “Black,” “Live Again,” “Willing,” and “The Worst Things Beautiful” really capture the essence of the mood of the album. In 2010, Jimmy released his highly anticipated self-produced first solo acoustic effort, ‘The Heart’ and followed it in 2011 with the release of ‘The Heart: X Edition’ in which built upon the intimacy of his solo album with a full band version of the record. In 2013 Ours released Ballet The Boxer, a re-inspired and resurgent self-produced release. This album builds upon the moody, soulful and epic sound captured on Mercy but with a greater sense of purpose that expands on the emotional state of previous releases.

Ours is a band that deserves to be bigger than they are. Jimmy Gnecco has a real knack for creating music with meaning and purpose. His voice is unmistakable and chilling. Give Distorted Lullabies and Mercy a listen and you’ll hear exactly what I mean.