The Wave Pictures - 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 funnelled 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.''