When I first learned about Ours, they were opening for Circa Survive. No one really knew who they were, and their mysterious stage presence just added to that. But once they started playing their set, I got completely lost in the sound. It took me on the stage and beyond; it was a seminal experience. However, people in the crowd started yelling at them to get off the stage in the middle of their set, and it literally hurt me to hear that. I knew this band was really special, and the fact that no one else seemed to get it strengthened my appreciation for them. I immediately bought everything they released after the show, which only turned out to be two albums and the EP for the forthcoming Mercy record.
Distorted Lullabies couldn’t be a better name for this album. The structures of the songs have the power to induce trances effortlessly if listened to in the right mindset, and the lyrics tell tales of dark, yet vague tragedies. Many of the songs have the 6/8 sway pattern that moves your body as such, and it’s easy to digest. If you can imagine what kind of music the Mr. Hyde of Jeff Buckley would have made, that is kind of what Ours sounds like.
The album, while virtually consistent, suffers due to a classic mistake. The first song, Fallen Souls, is by far the best track on the record, and easily one of the best Jimmy Gnecco ever wrote. It’s catchy, mystifying, powerful, and greatly shows the skills of Gnecco’s ability to write, let alone sing. Everything about the song’s delivery packs a punch to your heart, but the rest of the album simply cannot compare until you eventually get over the first track. This is practically the only downfall of the record, aside from the expected immaturity of songwriting.
Though, for a debut, you could argue the songwriting is quite strong, especially for the first half of the album. Gnecco shows restraint with his impressive vocal abilities instead of trying to take the spotlight, even though he is essentially the only one playing on the whole album (the liner notes give him credit for eleven instruments, including the standard guitar, drums, and bass). He also is the only songwriter on the record, so to criticize for undeveloped songwriting is hard to do at times, though almost necessary come the second half of the record, starting with Medication, where the album starts to become a noticeably cluttered.
These flaws are all momentary and passable for a debut, and Gnecco proves to the few that understand his music that he has the potential to bring emotive and individual music to his shockingly small audience. With this kind of attentive and cohesive approach to writing, it seems Ours has nowhere to go but up, and are most certainly a band to keep your eye on.
