Biography
A five-piece outfit consisting of Duncan Maitland on guitar, Aidan Parse on drums, Dave Browne handling vocals, Aonghus Ralston on bass and Geoff Woods on keyboards, Picture House came together in Dublin, Eire, toward the end of the 1980s. While the musicians were still in their teens they secured a deal with London Records, yet the label lost enthusiasm before their first album could be completed. Browne later remarked to journalists that the executives “are so dance-orientated that I think they just didn’t know what to do with us.” Although the setback proved disheartening, the musicians chose to remain intact and moved operations into a hillside house overlooking Dublin. They also discarded their earlier approach in favor of acoustic playing and layered vocal harmonies. Instead of courting another major company, they issued the new material themselves on Wacca Wacca Records. Frequent airplay on Dublin stations helped the Probably EP move sufficient units to justify two further pressings. The exposure brought the group to the attention of the Saw Doctors, who added them to the 1996 tour schedule. Positive notices prompted Koch Records to extend a European distribution arrangement for Wacca Wacca. The first full-length album to appear under this agreement, Shine Box, reached stores in 1996; its tracks were introduced to audiences through opening slots with Bon Jovi, Big Country and Runrig. Reviewers responded warmly, hailing the band as a thoughtful, articulate acoustic pop ensemble working in the lineage of Crowded House.