If you were out partying on a Friday night and someone put Ingram Hill’s second full-length helping, June’s Picture Show, on the stereo, chances are you would think, “Wow, must be a new 3 Doors Down record. Wait, maybe it’s Vertical Horizon or Train? Who is this?”
Your hypothetical query would perfectly sum up all of what’s wrong with June’s Picture Show. The album is a typical classic modern-rock record. But when I say “classic” I mean that, much like every other modern-rock record you’re likely to hear, this album is completely indistinguishable from all of the other records that throw together 12 mid-tempo, chorus-driven, built-for-radio tracks and call it an album.
Ingram Hill does little on June’s Picture Show to establish themselves as anything but an average band towing the lines that have already been laid out by their more successful predecessors like Matchbox 20 and the Goo Goo Dolls.
Certain songs on June’s Picture Show like “The Captain” and “Waste It All On You” display a slight touch of the band’s Memphis country-rock influences. Unfortunately, those moments are squandered; they are never fully embraced or extrapolated beyond subtle vocal tendencies and occasional guitar parts.
Choosing to veer away from their Memphis roots is a major oversight on the band’s part, as they would probably find greater creative and financial success as a country band. Ingram Hill would be considered energetic and loud in terms of country music, instead of being just another rock band trying to incorporate a softer side into a style of music that is already sorely deprived of real energy and intriguing topics.
While June’s Picture Show will probably disappoint more listeners than it pleases, it is likely to do the job for fans of similarly bland acts like the aforementioned Goo Goo Dolls and Train. Its choruses are good enough to warrant a second, perhaps even a third listen, but the rest of the content never veers into territory that could be considered challenging.
June’s Picture Show is an unidentifiable drone of a record that works well as both a coaster and a time killer, at least until 3 Doors Down releases its next album.
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