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Ingram Hill is a trio, at least nominally--- Justin Moore on guitar and vocals, Matt Chambless on drums, and Phil Bogard on guitars, augmented by a number of other players --- just like Rascal Flatts. They have a kind of southern rock thing going, just like another trio, Better Than Ezra, but with a little more of a country thing going, just like…well, that brings us back to R.F. Cold in California, Ingram Hill’s debut CD, is an interesting mix of those two bands; it’s really difficult to listen to any track on the CD without thinking of one band or the other, or both. And that’s really not a bad thing, not at all.

Where Ingram Hill shines is on their song selection. They can go from a semi-waltz (What You Want) to an unexpected Plimsouls’ cover (Million Miles Away) to She Wants To Be Alone, a terrestrial radio friendly tune that could break in either the Top 40 or country markets. Actually, that description fit’s a number of the tracks on Cold in California, including Why Don’t You, Something To Cry To, and…well, gee, actually, that applies to just about every tune on Cold in California (even Impossible, which is kind of annoying, lyrically, but still not bad). While there’s nothing terribly original on the disc, there’s nothing even remotely awful, either. One thing about contemporary country music: it’s a system of archetypes. When it looked like Brooks and Dunn were about to bite it, Montgomery Gentry showed up. Dixie Chicks wearing out their welcome? Here comes SheDaisy. And you know what? The second generation sometimes does quite well in filling whatever void there is. In this case, Ingram Hill has the chops to step up and fill the radio rotation hole when Rascal Flatts is between songs. They’ve got that “now she’s gone” thing down really well. I can imagine a lot of guys in small towns, driving around late at night after a breakup, listening to Million Miles Away and I Hear Goodnight and Troubled Mercy over and over.

Cold in California is an impressive debut. Let’s hope for good things for Ingram Hill and more good things from them.