Picture Books

By • Jan 1st, 2010 • Category: Band Bios

picture-booksThere’s a level of confidence (or is it arrogance?) that comes with naming your band after one of the British Invasion’s staple songs, just ask California power poppers Hellogoodbye or Danish rockers Kashmir. So when Picture Books took on the moniker of arguably The Kinks’ most beloved tune, the band set itself up for a wave of knee-jerk reactions. Yet comparisons to the seminal ’60s modsters stop abruptly at their name, and not just because the upstart quintet hails from Chicago and not London. Rather, Picture Books’ brand of energetic rock comes with a controlled whimsy that offsets their herky jerky rhythms and spiraling guitars and keys. For all of the jagged rock ‘n’ roll lineage that is woven into their Rochelle Rochelle EP, Picture Books laces its tracks with soft undercurrents of twinkling introspection. And while it has a long way to go before catching up to its namesake, there’s something vibrantly endearing about this band dreaming big.

Chicago Innerview, January 2010

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