The rise of Picture This is a phenomenal story. Barely two years together, the boys from Athy came from nowhere to defy the rules of the music game and confound the industry by doing things their own way – and becoming mega successful in the process.
In their own unique style, the duo have captured the zeitgeist. They amassed a fanbase on the back of a Facebook video. With that as a launching pad, and with only a handful of singles to their name, they started to sell-out major venues. The combination of their warm personalities, their way with a chorus and their rapidly developing social media smarts saw them power ahead, making the whole thing look easy when clearly it isn’t.
In the heel of the hunt, they’ve become hugely successful here in Ireland in a ridiculously short space of time. But they have also started to turn heads internationally, gathering momentum in the US, and latterly signing to Republic Records – home of Ariana Grande, Florence & The Machine, Gotye, James Bay and dozens more) there.
Picture This are far and away the most popular outfit of their kind in this particular rock ‘n’ roll hotspot, especially with young female audiences. The Kildare lads – Jimmy Rainsford and Ryan Hennessy by name – recently sold out an astonishing five nights in Dublin’s Olympia; they immediately announced a 3Arena date in November, which promptly sold out in three minutes.
With all of that as backdrop, it seems astonishing that the thousands of fans who’ve attended their live shows to date haven’t had an album of their new favourite band to savour. Until now that is. This eponymous debut is an independent Picture This creation, released on their own label here in Ireland, distributed by Warners. And on the evidence of the 13 songs, they certainly know their market and deliver exactly what the fans want.
Picture This are essentially a pop band, but with rock credentials and appeal, not dissimilar to Kodaline. And they are very good at what they do, creating music that resonates deeply with homegrown audiences, which is a testament to their song-writing and performing skills. The choruses and melodies, which are clearly designed to work in a live context, are catchy and memorable and Rainsford’s voice is particularly strong throughout. The acoustic guitar-driven mid-tempo ballad, ‘Addicted To You’, and the soaring ‘Never Change’ are superb.
Picture This clearly understand the dynamics of a song too; the tunes are carefully layered in all the right places, while Hennessy’s arranging and production skills are well apparent on catchy tunes like ‘Everything I Need’ and the almost U2-like ‘You & I’. But it’s on already familiar fare like ‘Take My Hand’ and the anthemic ‘Let’s Be Young’ (which probably should have been the album’s title) that they shine brightest.
One of the intriguing questions is where do they go from here? In part that depends on just how far this album will carry them. It’ll no doubt sell by the truckload here in Ireland. But will it deliver the international breakthrough? And if so, how will that impact on their future creative development? I’d love to see them becoming even more artistically ambitious, digging ever-deeper lyrcally and emotionally.
But for now, this is a brilliant calling card that should see Picture This confirm their position as Ireland’s brightest young stars. Onwards and upwards…