Review:

on 2011-08-06 CharlesMartel Said:

Ours are a band who have never seemed to have gained the attention and the acclaim they have deserved. Even among the morose hispter crowd, lovers of the deliberately obscure, Ours are frequently overlooked. I think it must have something to do with the name  it is a pretty silly concept (unless you are French in which case calling yourself 'Bear' may make sense). Their relative obscurity is all the more perplexing when you consider that the lead vocalist, Jimmy Gnecco, has a vocal style strongly reminiscent of his former close friend, Jeff Buckley, who is positively lionised these days. And what's more Gnecco writes all his own material.

The band's first album, "Distorted Lullabies", proved an interesting find for me and I was eagerly anticipating this release. Finding a torrent to check it out proved a little harder than I would have expected, and finding a copy on sale in a shop even more so (inexplicably so), but all I can say is thank God for Amazon. And after five years in the making I felt I had the right to expect something of a modern classic, especially as 2008 proved to be such a dismal year for music generally.

When you first put the album on, Jimmy Gnecco's voice greets you like an old friend. But as the album progresses you begin to detect some distinct changes in that voice when compared with "Distorted Lullabies". The voice seems a little cracked in places, perhaps it is more world weary. This certainly sets the tone for the album as a whole for it is a darker, denser more opaque work. In many ways it is actually really difficult to get into. For a start, the songs are all of pretty much the same (relatively) high quality. There are no duds here, but neither is there that glowingly stand out track which makes you want to put it on again immediately after you have finished hearing it.

Yet there is more texture to it than on first listen. For instance, there is a good use of a sombre sounding cello opening up "Ran Away to Tell the World" and a full set of strings on "God Only Wants You". Trumpets put in appearance on "Murder" while the childish voices of little girls close out the album with "Get Up". These tracks display a development in the musical texture. Similarly, the lyrics have improved as well: take this baleful warning from "Ran Away to Tell the World" -

"Don't spend your whole life
Waiting for your whole life
Thinking that it's over"

So what is it then that holds it back? Well it is hard to pin this down. The title of the album doesn't help - it is a little self-indulgent, isn't it? Indeed, much of the album seems to be a rather personal excursion for Gnecco into areas of music from which he draws inspiration - anyone else notice how much "Worst Things Beautiful" sounds like U2? For me though, the problem lies in the production. For the most part, the production seems to rely on the tried and trusted formula of everything louder than everything else. It is certainly a loud recording. But the wall of sound approach is perhaps not all that suited to Gnecco's vocal style which sometimes can become buried behind layers of instrumentation. And as Ours are all about Jimmy Gnecco's voice that is bound to be a problem.

As a result of these issues, "Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy)" is not the release I would have hoped for. It is not a bad album, but it could have been so much better. Still, in comparison with a lot of the dross which was put out in 2008, some of which ended up in my collection, this appears to be better than it might otherwise have been.
Rating: 7/10

on 2008-05-18 SoundscapeMN Said:

Among the nearly 60 records I've heard this year

(See the list here)
, this is the clear cut top disc in 2008 thus far. It took 6 years to finally be released, but it's proving to be well worth that wait.

Ours - Mercy...Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy)

Mercy - epic opener, 2nd part of a split track..works well on its own..spacey soaring guitar and vocals...floating..flowing track
live it would often go on much longer but the recorded version includes a little of that features Static's ambient guitar at the end

Worst Things - catchy catchy catchy..think U2 at their most catchy. The chorus never leaves your brain afterwards..such an uplifting song..this song is all about win.I'll admit I turned my back on this 1..shocked me..I love it when that happens and it proves why I love this band so much. Radio should eat it up..pop stations could play it all day. Could be their 1st single.

Murder - 2nd part of the epic..trumpets enhance this guy a lot. Clapping is sorta ritual-like. OLD song going back to the SOUR demo. Repeated pounding chorus..with emphasis. almost like a King's X thing.

Ran Away To tell the World - Moving ballad..great use of cello. "don't spend your whole life waiting for your whole life thinking that't over"
love the rocking bridge guitar solo. Classic ballad.

Black - experimental..includes a preachy almost-rap. Dark..forceful..gothic..kinda like DL in a way..dynamic changes..newer song..great vocal range with falsetto and lower ranges on a dime..ALBUMS THEME LYRICALLY..PERSONAL SONG FOR JIMMY

THE MOTH - GREAT LIVE tune..maybe 1 of 2 tracks that didn't translate as well studio..always loved the ryhthm and dynamics on this 1..the harmonies too..powerful live

GOD ONLY WANTS YOU - short..powerful but I thought it would be bigger..the vocals included. Subdued..LIKE THE ARRENGEMENT WITH THE STRINGS
..cLANCY from blue hippopatmus PLAYS CELLO..great build at the end..even if it feels short compared to the live version

live again - great pounding drum lead..great falsetto and screaming by jimmy. "forgive yourself and then you're gonna heal"..epic feel..not a slow moment in this 1..awesome crescendo
superior arrangements to the live versions

willing - also came out much different and catchy than expected.guitar riff is much thicker than the live versions
..layered

saint - originally titled saint down the hall. supposedly about jeff buckley.written many years ago. the soaring vocals are great.rich melody.

lost - awesome..powerful live song..the mix didn't quite do it justice. the guitars and drums overpower the huge vocal screams that the song is known for in the climax

get up..beautiful dynamics and feeling..amazing live song, but the studio version does give some of the movingh feeling as an album closer. "Man you should have seen her"..spacey guitar like in Mercy at the beginning..it's like waking up from a bad dream...dreamy..reminds me of peter gabriel or imogen heap almost. the orchestrations in the build.."beautiful like rain"..the chanting chorus that sounds like a kids choir works really well.

There was a ton of thought put into so many of these songs in the arrangements and production is almost to the point of perfection..much like DISTORED LULLABIES was.
Not Rated

on 2008-04-11 hstisgod Said:

Glad to hear this over stuffed ham put in a good effort, Im heading to check it out now, and see if anyone has reviewed their first.
Not Rated