Album Review: Picture This, Life In Colour

Following the success of 2019’s MDRN LV, Picture This’ highly anticipated third album, Life In Colour, arrives in high summer, just in time for a June 25 release. Having joined the label of Joe Jonas, the Athy crew have spent the last two years painstakingly creating a polished effort – undeniably aimed at a US audience.

Things are certainly nicely primed for them. The band kicked off 2021 with a live performance from Croke Park of ‘Things Are Different’ on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Now, the four-piece are itching to show off this fresh collection of ready-made radio bangers.

At its core, Life In Colour is a fan album – a record that will delight followers who’ve stuck with the group since their 2015 emergence. Picture This’ iPhone-filmed video for the irresistibly catchy ‘Take My Hand’ launched them to rapid stardom, albeit they’ve had the obligatory internet critics to contend with along the way. But taking a characteristically smart approach on Life In Colour, Ryan Hennessy and co don’t over-complicate things, relying on the colossal hooks that are their stock in trade.

It’s near impossible not to sway along to ‘LA House Party’ – we dare you try! ‘Die For You’ and ‘Addict of Magic’ stick to the familiar. However, the title-track and ‘Can You Feel It’ bring us firmly back on course. Picture This probably shine the brightest when Hennessy’s vocal talents are placed front and centre, such as on the stunningly direct ‘I Don’t Feel The Same Way Anymore’.

 “How did I end up in a house in the Hills?” the singer croons on ‘LA House Party’. “Don’t really care about who anyone is/ All of this hype, night of my life, is this it?” Here, Hennessy declares that no matter what international success they enjoy, Picture This won’t forget their humble Athy roots. The album isn’t big on stylistic curveballs, but Life In Colour shows that Picture This remain undisputed masters of straightforward pop kicks.