Ours: Precious : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Jimmy Gnecco hails from northern New Jersey, a place where hair metal never died, but the frontman of Ours clearly spent his teen years locked away with U2 records; soaring, dramatic vocals with single note underpinnings dominate his band's second album, Precious. Gnecco's voice is a beautiful instrument, huge and emotional but never cloying, though he occasionally ascends beyond Jeff Buckley territory to where only dogs can hear him. No matter -- the rise and fall of Gnecco's voice is what makes his melancholy so compelling. Songs such as "Disaster in a Halo" coat dark lyrics ("Somewhere there's a girl with thoughts of him/Makes wishes in a well then fears them caving in") in disarming melodies, and the band's chunky, power-chorded version of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" is in keeping with this spirit. Producer Ethan Johns creates an atmosphere that stands up to Gnecco's passion, with acoustic guitar and keyboards offering a plethora of sounds peeking out of a sweet electric haze.

MEREDITH OCHS
(November 5, 2002)