Ours: Jimmy Gnecco Is Not Jeff Buckley!

Any fans of the late Jeff Buckley might want to start getting excited about the upcoming release of an album that will more than likely make them cry with joy.

It's near blasphemous to even consider a singer/songwriter who can elicit comparisons to the perfect beauty of Buckley's voice and music, but Jimmy Gnecco (pronounced Neck-oh) is already creating a fervent buzz with his band, Ours and their soon-to-be-released debut album, Distorted Lullabies.

Anyone who has heard the record, or even seen the band live (Ours just recently opened for Ocean Colour Scene at the Opera House and played a free Horseshoe gig in April) can attest to the eerie way in which Gnecco sounds and often looks, like Buckley himself.

"I've heard it all [the comparisons], and I don't mind that," said a docile Gnecco over lunch last week on a patio somewhere in Toronto. "People have been talking about the 'Jeff thing' lately. But I've never tried to mimic him — or anyone for that matter. He had something in him that you can't mimic and I think we share that."

What he shares is that innate ability to make every hair on your body stand up in attention as he croons, shrieks, wails and whispers in the most pained and anguished of voices.

Soon enough, Ours will release Distorted Lullabies and the band's name will begin to be mentioned in the same breath with such tear-inducing luminaries as Radiohead, U2, Travis and yes, Jeff Buckley.

"Jeff took something old and brought it into the '90s," continued Gnecco. "He wasn't doing anything new, but there was something special in him."

As Gnecco thinks his way through his answers you can see that the comparisons are somewhat of a bittersweet pill for him. While it's wonderful to hear his name spoken alongside someone as revered as Jeff Buckley, he must also work hard to distinguish himself and allow Ours to carve out their own niche. Regardless, it's simply a thing of beauty to hear him sing. And the way in which he does is so natural and emotionally raw that people will assuredly see that indescribable inner soul that he feels he shares with Buckley.

"I don't mind hearing 'it sounds like so-and-so,'" concluded Gnecco, "But it's a lot like rap records. At first listen they all sound the same, but with each new listen you realize that each rap artist does their own unique thing."