Review: Ingram Hill “Blue Room Afternoon”

Pop rock/Acoustic
Fresh off the heels of last year’s magnificent record, “Look Your Best” (see review here), Memphis pop rock stars Ingram Hill are back with acoustic renditions of some of their finest work. The collection is called “Blue Room Afternoon” and is available exclusively on iTUNES, courtesy of Rock Ridge Music. The new record, which consists of a dozen tunes, was produced by lead vocalist/guitarist Justin Moore with the goal to have that “living room concert” feel. The set is more expansive than their unplugged EP from 2005 (also on iTUNES).

“We had always discussed releasing an acoustic album,” says Moore, “but for whatever reason had never done it. It was kind of strange recording older songs all over again, but it was fun to be able to approach them differently, and try a few new things with them, which totally gave a fresh feel to songs we've played thousands of times. It's almost a look into what songs sound like when we first wrote them, without all the bells and whistles of a full production record. We're excited about the album, and we can't wait for our fans to hear our songs in a fashion that is not normally available to them.”

I usually approach these types of records with mixed feelings of apprehension and excitement, but with a band loaded to the gills with talent like Ingram Hill, I had few reservations. Stripping these tracks down to their bare bones only serves to validate that the songwriting skill and musicianship in this trio far exceeds normal expectations for your average pop rock band. “Blue Room Afternoon” provides the perfect backdrop for chilling out, with ringing acoustic guitars swirling about well crafted melodies and harmonies.

Things couldn’t get off to a better start than with a long time fan favorite, “Will I Ever Make It Home”, which is quickly followed by the hot lead off track from their latest studio effort “Look Your Best”. Additional tracks from “Look Your Best” included in this set are “Lady Grey”, “Hey Girl”, and “Miss Kennedy”. “L.A. Crazy” is also here, which is nice as it previously was only available as a bonus track on iTUNES. Dipping deeper into their back catalogue, the band treats us to acoustic arrangements of older gems like “Almost Perfect”, “Never Be The Same”, and “On My Way” (all from “June’s Picture Show”). Even deeper into their past is the biting track “The Day Your Luck Runs Out” from 2002’s “Until Now”. Some pleasant surprises include the hard to find “Magnolia Me”, a beautifully sparse track heard at some of their live shows. There is a glaring absence of songs from the excellent “Cold In California” and their “Why The Wait” EP – it would have been cool to hear a couple tracks from these notable releases as well. I also would have loved to hear an acoustic rendition of their cover of Boston’s “More Than A Feeling”, which graced the “Herbie: Fully Loaded” soundtrack. It is hard to pick favorites, but if I were forced to choose they’d be “Will I Ever Make It Home”, “Hey Girl”, and “Lady Grey”.

Fast or slow, nearly every one of these songs lends themselves well to the acoustic format. “Blue Room Afternoon” will surely please fans of the band and hopefully win them some new recruits as well.

Ingram Hill – Official site.

Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview
Meekos & Me “Anxious Little Turtles” – Meekos & Me is a duo based in L.A.: Joey Colando on vocals and guitar and Danny Grab on cello. Their debut, “Anxious Little Turtles”, due June 21, features 14 mellow tracks best suited for rainy day listening. There are some truly inspired moments where the gentle folk melodies mesh beautifully with the strings, but for the most part this is a mood record. While the music is well played and nicely recorded, the hooks are too few and far between to hold my interest. If sleepy coffeehouse music is your thing, check out the track “Animals In My Room” for a taste. More info on the band can be found here.

Surprise of the week
Paul McCartney is planning to make a “heavy rock album” – and he’s asked Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) for tips on how to go about it. Read all about it here. A heavy rock album from the man who brought us Silly Love Songs? Maybe we’ll be amazed…I’m looking forward to this one!

News
Def Leppard says “We would like to work again with Mutt”. Mutt Lange, that is. The famed producer who helped craft “High ‘N’ Dry”, “Pyromania”, and “Hysteria”. C’mon guys…let’s make this happen! Read the full interview with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott here.

REO Speedwagon is releasing a special 30th Anniversary Edition of their smash 1980 record “Hi Fidelity” on July 19. It will contain a second CD with 9 previously unreleased goodies.
Disc One – Selections: 1. Don't Let Him Go 2. Keep On Loving You 3. Follow My Heart 4. In Your Letter 5. Take It On The Run 6. Tough Guys 7. Out Of Season 8. Shakin' It Loose 9. Someone Tonight 10. I Wish You Were There.
Disc Two: The Crystal Demos – Selections: 1. Someone Tonight 2. Tough Guys 3. In Your Letter 4. Follow My Heart 5. Take It On The Run 6. Don't Let Him Go 7. Keep On Loving You 8. Shakin' It Loose (Instrumental) 9. I Wish You Were There. (All tracks previously unreleased.)
Read the full story here.

Ingram Hill’s 2010 album, “Look Your Best” was my pick for best of 2010. They have an acoustic set coming out on June 21 called “Blue Room Afternoon” (only on iTUNES). Read more about it here.

Random iPOD song of the week
This week my iPOD reminded me what a gorgeous and moving song Lillian Axe created when they wrote “The Day That I Met You”. Off their excellent “Psychoschizophrenia” album from 1993.

Interview: Ingram Hill

Ingram Hill’s Justin Moore talks new album, label change, best band name ever, and reveals his Milli Vanilli-loving days

Ingram Hill is a pop rock trio based in Memphis, TN, excited to release their third album, Look Your Best, on September 28. Look Your Best is their first record on the Rock Ridge Music label, following 2004’s June’s Picture Show, which yielded the hits “Will I Ever Make it Home” and “Almost Perfect”, and 2007’s excellent, but underrated, Cold In California. We had the honor to ask Ingram Hill’s Justin Moore about the band’s new record and recent label change, and discover his secret Milli Vanilli-loving days.

Q: Thank for taking the time for the interview. I understand you and [guitarist] Phil have been friends since kindergarten, so I would guess that by now you almost read each other’s minds – How has your lifelong friendship factored into the songwriting for Ingram Hill?

Read the rest of my interview here.

Read my review of Ingram Hill's latest, "Look Your Best", here.

Review: Ingram Hill "Look Your Best"

Ingram Hill, a pop rock trio based in Memphis, is back with their third album, “Look Your Best”. For this record, the boys have found a new label and reunited with producer Rick Beato (Billionaire, Michelle Malone, Flickerstick, Shinedown), who worked on the band’s acclaimed 2004 full-length debut “June’s Picture Show.” It is great to hear the distinctive voice of lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Moore once again – his mild Southern draw and gentle rasp provide a texture not like anything else out there today. Moore is backed by Phil Bogard on guitar and Zach Kirk on bass (in case you’re wondering who does the drumming, the guys call on various friends to supply the beat).

The album’s first single is a pleasant mid-tempo number called “As Long As I’m With You.” In Moore’s words, the song “is for that person or the people who really kind of hold it together for you. When seemingly everything around you is falling apart, it's nice to know that it's going to be okay because someone's got your back. It doesn't always have to be the same person, either. Sometimes it can be your best friend or significant other, and sometimes it can be a group of fans in the front row, smiling, dancing, and singing the words to your songs.”

There is a perfect mix of upbeat and slow songs rounding out the ten that made the cut for inclusion on “Look Your Best”, many of which have already met the approval of fans at recent shows. There isn’t a clunker in the bunch – if you think you’ve found one, just listen to it once more and you’ll likely change your mind. In the tradition of Ingram Hill, each song has an engaging verse that soon bursts into a huge chorus with genuine lyrics sung with sincerity. This is contemporary pop rock at its best. Highlights include the punchy, feel good opener, “Broken Lover”, the radio-friendly single mentioned above, the uplifting ballad “Hey Girl”, and “Ready For The Sun”. But my favorite on the record is the infectious “Burn Out Your Flame”. It is obvious the guys poured everything they’ve got into this third swing at bat, and as a result “Look You Best” finds Ingram Hill sounding their best.

“Look Your Best” arrives on September 28, 2010 (Rock Ridge Music). Be on the lookout for two bonus tracks that will only be available at iTUNES: “L.A. Crazy” and “Good Man Gone Bad”. Ingram Hill is for fans of Nine Days, Better Than Ezra, and Train.

iPOD-worthy: ALL TRACKS!

Ingram Hill on MySpace. Official site.

Review: Ingram Hill "Cold in California"

Ingram Hill is a folk rock band hailing from Memphis. In 2004, they released "June's Picture Show" to moderate success, thanks to two catchy singles, "Will I Ever Make it Home" and "Almost Perfect." After 3 long years, we're treated to another offering of 11 new tracks from this talented band. Fans of the 90s pop rock greats Better Than Ezra, Gin Blossoms, and Toad the Wet Sprocket should take note.

"Cold in California" is a worthy follow-up to the 2004 record, full of more of the same melodic rocks that make you want to sing along. I found this release to be just as consistently enjoyable as "June's Picture Show," maybe even more catchy. They really seemed to treat almost every song as if it were going to be a single. As a result, nearly every track is going on my iPOD.

Ingram Hill on MySpace.

Here's an acoustic version of the first single, "Why Don't You":