The Jeff Buckley comparisons are inevitable, so let's get them out of the way right here and now: yes, Jimmy Gnecco, the lead singer of Ours, sounds like Buckley, and yes, he even looks exactly like Buckley. Yes, his poignant songwriting is like Buckley's, and yes, the falsetto wailing is Buckley, too.
As comprehensive as that sounds, however, "Precious" is not "Grace." For starters, "Precious" diverges from the band's previous album, "Distorted Lullabies," in its acquisition of aggression, a trait that the latter certainly lacked. While "Distorted" was more "Last Goodbye," "Precious" is much more "Eternal Life."
The entire transformation is unfortunate, and not because Buckley idolatry necessarily is a good thing, but because the Buckley emulation and adoration was a solid first step to bigger and better things. Those bigger and better things do not transpire in "Precious," which suffers in its musical and lyrical compositions, particularly when juxtaposed to past offerings.
Even the two singles from each respective album cannot stand comparison. "Sometimes," from the prior album, was a remarkably well-done sing-along piece, with the complete package of a dramatic chorus, swirling instrumentation and a captivating, if not entirely original, melody. "Leaves," on the other hand, maintains the grand pop atmosphere, but regresses to a clich
d theme and even more trite guitar lines. The sentiment is there for pop success, but it's certainly a considerable fall backward from all that seemed possible last year.
Which in itself could be a large source of the problem -- the turnaround time between the two albums was unreasonably fast. Much of the material gives off an impression of being hastily thrown together.
While Gnecco's vocals are as strong as ever, the rest of the band certainly sounds like they could use an extended vacation. Gnecco, as glorious as his vocal chords may be, cannot carry the weight of the material alone, as lightweight as some of it may be. This is not for a lack of trying. The belabored screaming in "Realize," for instance, certainly adds much needed intensity to the track. Gnecco is fearless in pushing the limits of his range, which, to his credit, is extensive. All good things that come out of "Precious," in fact, are Gnecco's work alone.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the tracks here is the fact that you either get the impression you've heard them before, or you know exactly the reason why they haven't been attempted in the past; in a few cases, it's a special interaction of both factors. "Kill the Band," for instance, is a painfully dragged out attempt at striking a balance of more forceful guitars and belligerent lyrics with the-- if you will -- grace that was inherent to "Distorted." Instead of being left to ponder the amazing transformation, the listener is left to wonder exactly what Ours is trying to prove.
So the album goes. There are brief flickers of light in "Places," a genuinely moving ode to a lost loved one, and "Broken," an amazing epic piece that soars from a whisper to tormented screeching without compromising any of the delicacy that the first few minutes of the song establish. Not only does "Broken" provide the high point of the album, but also perhaps of Gnecco's song-writing to date.
"Precious" is a disappointing album, mostly for the fact that it further ties Gnecco to a lackluster band that has apparently passed its pinnacle. In the lyrics of Buckley, "Sometimes a man gets carried away, when he feels like he should be having his fun." In Gnecco's case, let's hope that this album was a fun diversion and not indicative of work to come.
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