It’s over twenty years since The Wave Pictures formed in Wymeswold, Leicestershire as teenagers. The trio of Jonny Helm (drums), Dave Tattersall (guitar & vocals) and Franic Rozycki (bass) have gone on to be one of the UK’s most prolific and beloved bands.
Fond of classic rock, jazz and blues, they are also one of the most accomplished, with Tattersall’s guitar solos becoming the stuff of legend. They have collaborated with varying bright stars of the musical firmament, from their ongoing partnership with ex-Herman Dune member Stanley Brinks, or the very close partnership with Billy Childish for 2015’s ‘Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon’.
The band have released 11 albums and played some of the most treasured festival stages around including Primavera Sound, Green Man and End of the Road.
The new album, Gained Lost:
Classic songwriting, virtuosic musicianship and dream logic lyrics.
The Wave Pictures return with Gained Lost, a record that brings together 60s garage rock, 70s classic rock and 90s American indie with a DIY spirit that has guided the band for nearly three decades. Across the album, David Tattersall (guitar and lead vocals), Franic Rozycki (bass), and Jonny Helm (drums) capture the joy of playing together—a chemistry that has cemented their status as one of Britain’s most enduring cult bands.
Tattersall’s lyrics arrive like postcards from the space where memories fragment and dreams fill the cracks—reflecting the self as a child, as an elder, and as an observer from a neighbour’s window. Lyrics float over the guitars and drums like figures in the sky in a Chagall painting. The Wave Pictures always give the mundane its magical due.
The front cover, created by Tattersall, is a tribute to Robert Frank’s front cover for Exile On Main Street. Images of childhood combine with recent photos of the band and many other figures, from old horror movie posters to former footballers. Everything in their world gets funneled into The Wave Pictures music.
The album opens with the Burroughs-inspired dreamscape of “Alice.” ‘’Sure and Steady’’ is like Lou Reed if he’d grown up in the East Midlands. ‘’Past The House Painted Blue’’ is like a painting by Matisse. ‘’You’re My Patient Now,’’ a mixture of Raymond Chandler and Link Wray. The songs themselves—full of poetry and joy—are the album’s defining strength.
Like its predecessor, Gained Lost was recorded by Jim Riley at Rochester’s Ranscombe Studios over seven days in early 2024. Riley, who has worked with the band on multiple projects including Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon and Bamboo Diner in the Rain, captures the Wave Pictures live and unfiltered—the way they prefer to record. Throughout the album, David Tattersall’s guitar playing is inventive, melodic, emotional and virtuosic. His playing at times is as lyrical as Jerry Garcia, at others spikey and spindley like Tom Verlaine, but always emotional and on point for the song. No wonder Marc Riley describes David Tattersall as ‘’The greatest guitarist of his generation.’’
Gained Lost sets a new standard: a distillation of spirit, craft, and joy. It is available now on vinyl, CD, and digital formats.
