Jimmy Gnecco

The Heart (Bright Antenna)

By Catherine McCarthy
Published: July 26th, 2010 | 7:00am

On the title track of Ours frontman Jimmy Gnecco’s debut solo effort, The Heart, he asks, “What did you want to be when you were young?” It’s clear Gnecco wanted to be Thom Yorke, or perhaps his late friend Jeff Buckley, as he auto-tunes himself into oblivion on the second track, “Light on the Grave,” seemingly in an attempt to channel Buckley’s falsetto. His work for Ours is plagued by comparisons to Buckley, but there is a fine line between emulation and impersonation, and he crosses it.

Though Gnecco is a seasoned veteran, he still seems to be struggling to find his voice. The Heart vacillates between promising pop tracks like “Bring You Home” before plummeting with truly terrible cuts such as “These Are My Hands,” which features screeched words and plunking chords that offer no redeeming value. If you appreciate the vocals of Muse’s Matthew Bellamy, or even Rufus Wainwright, you’ll find Gnecco’s voice comforting. However, a voice can only carry an album so far, and without any substance beneath the vocal acrobatics, The Heart falls painfully short of a full-fledged body of work. Sit this one out while we wait for Gnecco to find his voice, spread his wings, and deliver an album worthy of his natural abilities.

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Bright Antenna