A few years back I was looking for some new music to check out. As I perused the shelves there was an album that caught my eye. The band name was Ours. Thinking it was a curious name for a band, I picked it up and found an even more interesting album title.

The album was called Distorted Lullabies, and the cover featured the mostly obscured face of one of the band members (turned out to be singer Jimmy Gnecco). Everything pointed towards dark indie rock. Not sure why I thought that, but that was the impression I got. I ended up buying the album and really liking what I heard. I would go on to mention the album to a number of friends, none of who had ever heard of them. While I truly enjoyed the album and would pull it out for a spin every once in a while, I soon forgot to keep an eye on them, thus missing their subsequent releases. Here we are, years later, and an album arrives on my doorstep from Ours. The name clicked and I eagerly put it in the CD player and pressed play. I was greeted with that familiar voice, only this time it felt bigger and more emotional.

The album may be with a title that smacks of pretentiousness, but that is about as far as it goes. My first impression was that it was a little self-indulgent, but frankly, I did not care so long as the music is good. Still, it is a pretty cool sounding title. Much like Distorted Lullabies before it, Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy) is a dark album filled with depressing excursions into art rock. Do not take depressing to be bad, rather it has a deeply personal sound that involves the listener as it dances across the bleak landscape.

When you first hear Ours, you will likely get strong flashes of Jeff Buckley. Listening to Jimmy Gnecco's voice and inflections it is hard not to, the similarities are as clear as day. In addition to Buckley, I heard touches of The Cure and Radiohead all blended together in this art rock mic. Despite the comparisons, Gnecco is still able to carve out his own direction and differentiate himself. The songwriting is a thing of beauty, with flowing guitars, smooth rhythms, and an expansive soundstage, Ours moves with an ebb and flow that is all of its own.