Not-so dead band showcase: Ours
I was browsing through my iTunes library the other day and saw with a sharp pang of familiarity the name 'Ours'. They were a bit of a favourite in my family whilst we lived in Houston a couple of years ago- I have fond memories of listening to them in the Chrysler convertible on hot summer days. Formed way back in 1992 by vocal prodigy Jimmy Gnecco, they sound like a goth Jeff Buckley, mostly because of Gnecco's fantastic voice. Unfortunately where Buckley became instantly famous after Grace, Ours have laboured for the last 15 years over two albums and some recordings, all of which received mostly positive press but failed to boost their commercial status. As I said a few posts ago, there isn't any reason for some bands' unpopularity, but with Ours it might be their lack of an instant identity- huge comparisons could be made to U2, and Jeff Buckley has serious parallels with Gnecco.
The current Ours lineup, with Gnecco in the middleHowever, unlike Moke (see this post)- who gave up after two albums- Ours' albums have been getting progressively better and more technically advanced, and the critics have been taking notice. After reminiscing over a listening of their first official album Distorted Lullabies, I did a bit more research and found that a new Ours' album entitled Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy is being released very soon. Produced by world-famous Rick Rubin, the Ours' MySpace page states it is the album they were "destined to make". Sounds good- of course this could all be a massive lie, but here's to hoping they're right this time around.
Here's a couple of the best tracks from Distorted Lullabies, their first album, and some Jeff Buckley tracks, just for the sake of comparison.
Ours- Fallen Souls
Ours- I'm A Monster
Ours- Drowning
Jeff Buckley- Grace
Jeff Buckley- Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley- Last Goodbye
All of Our's music can be bought here
