French band Eleven Ounces have crafted a compellingly feisty alternative rock sound that sounds like it stepped straight out of the 2000s, and they summarise as “catchy, energetic and sincere.”
The band, from Toulon in the southeast of France, was formed in 2021 by long-time friends Jess (vocals), Alex (guitar), Fab (bass) and Oliv (drums). The band members had all played in various local rock and metal bands over the years and, when their projects came to an end, they decided to start a new one together.
As the band explains: “We didn’t really know what or how to begin with, but we quickly found out which style and approach we wanted. The sound of ELEVEN OUNCES is fairly sharp and powerful. From an instrumental standpoint, we aim for efficiency through simplicity. Jess brings both a smooth and a raw edge with her vocals.
“We focus on achieving a final result that is melodic, dynamic, and clear. We’re not particularly fans of the genre’s current productions; they often feel overdone and/or too similar. We prefer that live, organic feel you could hear on albums from the 2000s.”
Our latest taste of this is Over It, which was released on Valentine’s Day, but don’t worry, it’s certainly not a soppy love ballad. It opens up with stabbing guitar chords under Jess’ engaging vocals, which pick up pace and end with the line “That’s the spirit, darling” before diving into a catchy chorus. More fast-paced vocals follow in a feisty second chorus, which flows into another chorus that’s joined by a piercing guitar lick adding to the atmosphere. The pace suddenly drops with a mellow guitar and moodier vocals, before a lone guitar lick tees up a big final blast of the chorus.
On the track, they told us: “We’ve already received very positive feedback on Over It, both regarding the songwriting and the production. At this stage in our journey, we decided to establish a clear artistic direction and adopt a more assertive approach in the production process, and we’re seeing that it’s paying off.
“For those who haven’t listened to Over It yet, the song is quite personal and distinctive in its structure. It tells the story of a long-term romantic relationship coming to an end after many years of living together. One might expect a slow, melancholic track, but in fact, the opposite happens. It’s quite singular. We decided to release the track on Valentine’s Day, quite funny, isn’t it?”
Over It is the band’s first release since the excellent The Devil You See in late 2024. That followed on from the band’s debut EP, intriguingly titled EP, which has more of a grungy and garage / noise rock feel to it, including a personal favourite in Until Next Time and the catchy Get Out.
The Eleven Ounces sound is heavily inspired by fellow bands with female lead vocalists, including the likes of Paramore, The Pretty Reckless, Dead Sara and Pink. But they’re also actively interested in what’s happening in rock, metal, punk, pop and rap and, apparently, Oliv is a big ABBA fan.
And on what inspires them to write music, the band explains: “I would say life, relationships and internal struggles everybody experiences. Jess often says that she uses music to express herself without social filters. As for the music, we don’t follow a specific theme when we write. We write each song according to a mood, a time, a desire! That’s what makes our music quite different from one another. We always keep our dynamic elements, but the texture changes.”
There’s plenty more to come from Eleven Ounces, who are working on writing and recording new music. They’ll also be playing local gigs, with ambitions to tour nationally.
And they added: “All we want is to be heard and share our music with as many people as possible. It’s really hard for small bands and artists right now, so if you can, come to a show, buy some merchandise, chat with the band, and share the music with your friends. Honestly, doing that for any band on the current scene means way more than you can imagine. It’s what allows us to exist!”
You can follow Eleven Ounces on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
GigRadar 
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