OURS - OURS (2021)

After a decade of relative quiet, during which time Ours released only two full-lengths, frontman Jimmy Gnecco staged a stunning comeback with the project's sixth album, Ours. Serving as both a reintroduction and a resurrection, the self-titled set is an incredible artistic feat that manages to best the band's breakthrough output from the early 2000s. Shedding the confines that restricted much of their mid-career product -- an unchanging blend of Gnecco's inimitable vocals and dramatic emoting set to atmospheric guitar rock backing -- Ours expands their sonic palette with touches hitherto unheard in their catalog, incorporating bright synths, catchy grooves, and a truly stadium-sized approach that finally brings Gnecco close to the scope of major influence U2. This late-era evolution pays off in droves, resulting in Ours' best album to date.

Broken up into three parts, each segment has its own personality and could stand alone as a singular statement, but together they create a dramatic triptych that highlights Gnecco's newfound creative resurgence. Starting with The Towering Garden, he unveils this grand opus with the expansive "Are You Listening," whose guitars soar past the horizon and into "From Where You Are," which stirs the soul with sweeping strings courtesy of violinist Stephan Hovsepian and Gnecco's timeless wail. Listeners are quickly shaken from the nostalgic cloud by the synth-based "Gold," a shocking but welcome addition to the arsenal. The segment peaks with "You Are the Answer," an extended jam that builds and builds, riding a clattering breakbeat, a charging riff, and haunted Gore/Gahan-like harmonies. As the Muse-lite "Across the Clouds" fades into the midsection, Azurite, Gnecco cranks the rock bombast for a breathless stretch. The cinematic "If There's Love" incorporates violin, trumpet, and Mellotron on an epic jam that culminates with a torrent of screams as the first pounding beats of "See the Light" provide an Oasis-worthy, scuzz-rock blast reminiscent of that band's 2005 hit "Lyla." And just as another left-field surprise -- a crunching industrial intro -- electrifies section standout "Spectacular Sight" (the original name of the album), Gnecco takes it one step further with "Bring It On," a monstrous showstopper that matches his throat-shredding vocals with soulful backing. Through the sweeping beauty of the closing segment, Spectacular Sight, strings and piano (the Radiohead-reminiscent "Eyes"), shiver-inducing vocals ("Eternally"), and slow-burn sensuality ("Your Man") offer a gradual comedown before Gnecco finishes the show with a one-two punch of brightness and hope on the shimmering "Get That Feeling" and the U2-sized "Echo." The band has not sounded this vital in years and it's a wonder that, two decades into the game, Gnecco could deliver a career-defining peak. Ours is absolutely worth a listen, yet another example of the New Jersey workhorse's underrated artistry and dedication to his craft.