"Krone" interview

Picture This: “We feel like a soccer team”

Four friends on their way to the pop Olympus: Picture This are coming to Vienna live with their new album "Parked Car Conversations".

(Bild: Barracuda Music)

In their home country of Ireland, they already fill the biggest halls and are compared to U2 behind closed doors - on the European mainland, Picture This are also gaining ground. The quartet is now coming to Vienna with a new album. We asked them about it in advance.

"Krone": Guys, your appearance at the Frequency Festival in summer 2023 was the first in Austria since 2018, when you played as support for Tom Odell at the Vienna Gasometer.
Ryan Hennessy: It's been a long time. Vienna is a great city. I love the culture and it somehow contains everything that makes Europe so special. I can hardly wait to play here again. Frequency was the first time we played an indoor festival.

Now you're playing at Simm City on October 8th. What can we expect?
Jimmy Rainsford: We'll both be playing a full show and are already very excited. It's a nice competition, but in a very enjoyable way because we love our support Tim Gallagher.

How important is humor for you within the band?
 Rainsford: Humor is sometimes the most important thing of all. Cliff and Owen are huge jokers anyway and we've all known each other so long and so well that we couldn't exist without humor. We also post humorous scenes on Instagram all the time so the fans can share in our fun. We just want to have a good time and deliver nice concerts.

You all grew up together - not just with the music. Has success changed your personalities and your relationship with each other?
 Hennessy: Our connection to each other is stronger than ever. In the beginning, we all still had to find ourselves. We had to find ourselves and our place in the band. But there's no longer a piece of paper between us. Of course, we've all matured.
Owen Cardiff: When you're successful in the music industry, your good qualities are strengthened and the bad ones are washed away. Otherwise you couldn't be successful in the long run, it wouldn't work. If you're in the limelight, then at best you become a better person. I hope that's the case with us.

You're a huge act in your home country of Ireland and you're also becoming more and more well-known in the rest of Europe. Isn't there a lot of pressure involved?
 Hennessy: There's always pressure, but where would we be without it? 
Rainsford: As a band and as individuals, we always want to take the next step. A bit of pressure behind it is definitely good.

Isn't it sometimes difficult when four musical characters have to create a final product when writing songs?
 Hennessy: We're very lucky that the four of us are pretty similar and have little need for discussion when it comes to the music. We all have the same taste and bring our personalities to the table very well. Songwriting is not a problem at all.

As a band, you've been together for about eight years now. How would you summarize the journey so far?
 Rainsford: It's also crazy what's happened in the last few years. In our home country, four out of five albums have been at the top of the charts and we're playing really big gigs. We're also getting a better foothold in Europe. We've been very lucky, but we also work hard for our success. The important thing is that we've become even more stable with each other and as friends.

When did you start making a living from music alone?
 Hennessy: A few years ago. Of course, it's great that we don't have to get up at 6 a.m., but can sleep through the morning because the daily rhythm is now completely different.

You finally released your album "Parked Car Conversations" in spring.
 Rainsford: We have so many great singles that we love and wanted to release beforehand. In the streaming age, albums can get lost very quickly, but we love these singles so much that we don't want them to go to waste.

Is an album still necessary and contemporary for a band like you?
 Hennessy: Our fans are great because they love the whole concept of the band. The songs, the production process and everything around it. Sometimes we feel like a soccer team that has a great following. That's anything but a given. We see ourselves as an album band and want to focus on the big picture in the artistic field.

What's behind the title "Parked Car Conversations"? 
Hennessy: It comes directly from our lives. When Jimmy and I started the band, we spent a lot of time in the car talking about our visions and goals for the band when we weren't in the studio. We had a lot of deep conversations in the van or in the parked car later on as a band. About failed relationships, new girlfriends, family crises or even Picture This. It all started with the song of the same name, but the further we thought, the more we realized that many people have such conversations. The title perfectly sums up the content of the album because every single track is centered around such a deep conversation.

Have you gotten to know each other better as individuals through the band?
 Hennessy: Definitely. When you're surrounded by other people, you learn a lot more about yourself than in other situations. It's about behavior, feelings and emotions. And how you deal with them in a community. In just under eight years, a lot has accumulated that we have experienced as a band. When we were still very young, we first had to find each other. We are very lucky that we are experiencing this journey as best friends. I sometimes feel really sorry for solo artists because they can't share so much of their experiences intrinsically. In a band, there's always someone who can pick you up. On stage, you can rely on others. That's a great feeling.

But a band doesn't just have advantages. You have to make a lot more compromises, there are often financial inconsistencies or individual trips when something doesn't quite fit ...
Hennessy: We are very open with each other and nobody takes the cake. That was extremely important from day one to avoid getting into stressful situations in the first place. So far, we've done very well with this tactic and I hope it continues for a long time. (laughs)

One of your singles called "Get On My Love" honors people who are resilient and show strength in difficult situations in life. What was it inspired by?
 Rainsford: Ryan and I were in Sweden at the time and had a few beers. Of course, that was a bit out of the ordinary and when we went into the studio the next day in Stockholm, we didn't feel so good at first. But we had so much fun in the studio and just started writing. The song was written in a few minutes, it was like magic. When I think about it now, we always created something really special when we were having fun and the mood was good. With this good energy in the room, something good always comes out.

Is the "Song To Myself" addressed to yourselves as a band?
 Hennessy: It's a song I wrote for myself. I kept a diary and was as honest as I could be in it, which isn't always easy. I wanted to express this feeling to the outside world and this song was also written within 20 minutes. Most of the time it's about relationships or us as a band, but to go that deep into myself and sing about it was also very special for me. I didn't feel comfortable with it and it took a lot out of me. The song is extremely important to me and although it came so easily to me in terms of craft, I had to overcome a lot for it.

Is it basically about overcoming fears and insecurities?
 Hennessy: The reactions to the song were varied. For some, it has a very cathartic effect. In my case, I can only say that it had to come out. I felt an inner compulsion to come out with this topic. I got to know myself better while writing this song. The song was also cathartic for me, but I felt that I found a few causes and reasons to reflect on myself in the song.

Does it make you feel a certain discomfort to know that more and more people are experiencing your personal thoughts through your songs?
 Hennessy: I like that. It's our goal that as many people as possible listen to our music and hear our message. I personally don't mind that. I'm extremely happy when people react to our music, comment on it and understand it or absorb it for themselves. When we release some songs I'm often very insecure and wonder why I've been so outspoken again, but in the end the reactions are always okay.

Is the song "Ireland" something like the unofficial anthem of your home country?
 Rainsford: Maybe it is. More than an anthem for Ireland, it's a song that harks back to our childhood. Ireland is so incredibly diverse. There are so many cultures, traditions and people. The country is very different to the city. Ireland is a very unique country and we are all very proud of it. The song is meant to show the many facets of Ireland and their connections. We want to show people what we are made of and how we experience our homeland.

Of course, we also know the dark side and the civil war between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Does this also inspire your songwriting?
 Hennessy: We prefer to write about personal issues, but we can't deny that the history of this country doesn't influence our music and lyrics. But the war itself has no effect on us.
Cardiff: Geographically we are quite far away from it and extremely proud to be Irish and to live in this country. But the relationship between the countries goes far beyond mere politics. It's important to stand up for peace and community. There's so much politics and so many opinions out there - we don't need to fuel that in our music.

Live in Vienna
On October 8, Picture This will play an exclusive Austrian show in Vienna's Simm City. They have the up-and-coming Tim Gallagher from Manchester on board. Tickets and all further information about the gig are still available at www.oeticket.com.