A fascinating tracklist - some old ones, some vinyl only tracks, a couple alternate takes, and a song I'm unfamiliar with (This King Business). Sounds like an essential purchase. Just have to learn how to do that now.....
1: Watching Charlie's Angels
There was a period of time when I had no job and no schoolwork. I used to get up every day at noon and watch Charlie's Angels in my green dressing gown. They were repeating the original series on English television, and the song refers to this and not the recent film version with Cameron Diaz in. I am thinking of Farah Fawcett era Charlie's Angels here. Perhaps I would summon up enough energy to prepare myself a bowl of cereal during the advert break. This sounds like a depressive period of my life, but it wasn't. I like having nothing to do and I like doing nothing.
2: Time To Leave Town
This was an extraordinary recording session. The piano was upstairs, in the Duke of Uke ukelele shop in East London, the recording studio was downstairs, underneath the shop. So Franic and Jonny played their drums and bass down there, and I played and sang up above them. Long cables, snaking down the stairs, linked us together. It's a live take, but recorded on two floors. The song was written many years earlier, when I worked as a labourer on a building site. That job gave me plenty of time to think. It was hard on my body but my mind was unoccupied. I wrote this song very quickly in my lunch hour, probably because I had been thinking about it all morning, and then went back to work.
3: Our Perfect Lovers
This song came out of a conversation with Stanley Brinks in which he said 'It's a full time job, to keep a dog happy'. The whole song came from that one sentence that he spoke.
4: Puncture My Pride
One of Franic Rozycki's all time favourite Wave Pictures songs. It sounds bitter, but it isn't.
5: Swimmimg
'I wouldn't suck your dick even if I was drowning and there was oxygen in your balls' - John Waters.
6: If You Leave It Alone
A superior, alternative version of one of my least embarrassing songs to the one we released on our second album.
7: Holding Hands
A very sad song. I always knew it when I was with the wrong person at the wrong time.
8: Hear The Ferries Mooring
Inspired by the film His Girl Friday, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant. Now that some time has passed, it is impossible for me to remember what it was about that film that made me write this song. The story in the song is completely different to the one in the film. Sometimes I can't for the life of me remember where these things come from. I would, however, recommend His Girl Friday. Well worth watching.
9: The Worm Inside The Brain
The influence of The Four Brothers, that most magnificent of Zimbabwean guitar bands, shows a little on this one. The lyrics were partially written by a good friend who inexplicably thinks the tune is reminiscent of Jimmy Cliff.
10: I Thought Of You Again
We recorded this again for our 'If You Leave It Alone' album. This is an earlier, more rock and roll version. This song is a rare case; I remain fairly pleased with the lyrics even after singing it several times.
11: I Walked Past Them Sleeping
The image of walking among the sleeping comes directly from Walt Whitman. I think his aspirations were somewhat higher than mine though. He was trying to uncover the commonality of the human experience. I am leaving a girl. I also wanted to allude to the philosophy of The Wave Pictures' approach to making music. I did, but I'm not telling you where, and Jonny and Franic know nothing about it. It's a secret.
12: This King Business
The title of this song comes from a story by Dashiel Hammett. It has the same riff in it as Sister Ray by the Velvets, or Jonathan Richman's Roadrunner, or Breaking In My Heart by Tom Verlaine or.... lots of songs.
13: God Bless The Reverend Gary Davis
Gary Davis is one of my guitar heroes. I love his playing. I love his voice too. This song is for him.
My life is pop. Or so I should think David Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny Helm, the trio wonders of Wymeswold. A tireless worker, the British did not stop spinning, record and edit. His latest installment to date, in length, is the magnificent Beer In The Breakers (2011).
But the files of The Wave Pictures are full of items waiting to see the light of the sun, hidden gems rarities and B-sides or alternate versions of songs that deserve another chance.
To put some order, the next CD is an artifact Rockdelux exclusive unreleased material from the trio collected. A CD that you can only find the issue of the month of September.
The next inning, the songs I Thought Of You Again (so called collection) discussed one by one by David Tattersall, lead singer of the band.
Make Waves.
Live Review: The Wave Pictures
By Hollie JonesPosted on August 18, 2011 by secretsoundshopDavid Tattersall. The Wave Pictures. Hollie Jones
It was a warm Wednesday night in New York City’s Lower East Side. It was getting late, nearing 11pm when Dave Tattersall, Franic Rozycki and Jonny Helm took the stage in the dimly lit back from of the Mercury Lounge. Greeted by a sizable but intimate crowd, The Wave Pictures wasted no time and immediately set about engaging with their audience, telling the traumatic tale of their subway journey from JFK the previous evening in a suitably theatrical manner.
A recent Pitchfork review critiqued the trio as a, “distinctly British act”. The fact that this band hail from the UK should not be the talking point of their musical product or live performance. And if their British heritage is to be referenced, its impact on their reception is far from negative. The distinctly British element of this act manifests itself through the band’s polite and charming stage presence, witty lyrical tales and Tattersall’s charismatic, quintessentially English warble. This all emphasizes and compliments the 80s inspired, folk rock sound that the band resonate, contrasting simple guitar chords, bass arpeggiations and soft snare drumming with strong, enigmatic vocals and expertly executed guitar solos.
It was the song writing skill evident throughout the set that really defined the band and served to facilitate a jolly and jovial atmosphere. The group showcased songs that told stories in a witty and wry way, using imaginative metaphors and clever rhyming couplets to recount anecdotes of heartbreak and failed relationships. Their music takes a bright and blithe approach to tales that are raw and tender, a feature that sets them apart from other contemporary folk bands and makes them a pleasure to watch. The lyrics of ‘Strange Fruit for David’ in particular initiated ripples of laughter throughout the crowd.
For the most part, the group played upbeat, buoyant numbers such as ‘Spaghetti’ and ‘I love you Like a Madman’ sporadically slipping in slightly more somber numbers such as when drummer Jonny Helm departed the drums in order to sing ‘Now You are Pregnant’. Away from the comfort zone of his drum kit Helm was shy and timid, bashfully stepping away from the microphone showcasing typical British modesty as soon as opportunity allowed, making his presence all the more enchanting. The poignant and emotional lyrics, “you could say sorry ten billion times, but sorry didn’t do what you did/ I threw myself at you and I threw myself away”, were emphasized by the stripped back acoustics featuring no percussion and a very light guitar accompaniments that served to compliment Helm’s captivating performance.
The Wave Pictures will be in the US for another week so you can still catch them live. Secret Sound Shop will most definitely be seeing them again shortly.
AUGUST
18 – Brooklyn, NY – Public Assembly
19 – Philadelphia, PA – North Star Bar
20 – Montauk, NY – Music To Know Acoustic Session at Sole East Hotel
25 – Brooklyn, NY – The Rock Shop
David Tattersal wants to be clear that he never, ever utilizes the mainstream marketplace to find something new. Word-of-mouth recommendations are the methods du jour, and the results are favorite albums from Ry Cooder and Captain Beefheart. Thus the vocalist for The Wave Pictures has a feel for what matters regardless of what popular culture is pointing toward, and that theme is exhibited in histrio. While they had a solid run at SxSW, they’re still waiting to break Stateside. Until then, here’s insight into vocalist Tattersal’s Artistic Taste. UK
What was the first album you discovered without the assistance of popular radio or television?
Ry Cooder, The Long Riders Original SoundtrackI was pretty hooked on my dad’s small vinyl collection from quite a young age. I think I was six or seven when I started asking him toplay this one over and over, possibly driving him crazy. I think I liked it because it has cowboys on the front cover. It also has DavidLindley and, of course, Ry Cooder, playing on it: two wonderful musicians.
In my memory (which, admittedly, is pretty suspect) I remember this as the first album that I ever got excited about, or was even aware of. It had a brown cover. I remember looking through all the records to find one with a brown spine. I don’t think I saw the film until I was in my mid-20s. It’s a good one, a typical Walter Hill film. Lots of slow motion gun fights and that sort of thing. Ry Cooder has always been good at breathing new life into old musical forms, something that almost nobody else does convincingly. On this, they play a lot of very old american folk music, but it sounds completely alive and fun.
One thing I would add is this: I never discover any music with the assistance of popular radio or television. Those, to me, are useless places to learn anything, because they are utterly driven by the marketplace. I hear about things from friends and family and so on, or from reading stuff. Maybe my initial love my dad’s record collection is the reason for this. I learned about music in something of a vacuum, since he had given up buying new music not long after he bought this soundtrack, a few years before I was born.
What album is a favorite for the way it prominently features your instrument of choice?
Robert Johnson, The King Of The Delta Blues, Volumes 1 and 2My instrument of choice is guitar. I can’t think of more virtuoso guitar playing than that on these recordings. His singing is prettyotherworldly too. It’s easy to understand why Clapton and Keith Richards and all those people initially assumed there was a second guitarist on these recordings, and why the myth that Johnson sold his soul to the devil in return for being granted super-human musical powers is so well-known. His musicianship, and indeed his lyricism, is untouchable. When I heard this I realized that a guitar could be, all on its own, a whole universe of expression. I still listen to Johnson all the time and I always hear something new.
What album do you feel like you understand, despite the fact that the vocals are in another language?
The Four Brothers, Bros.Well, I guess I don’t understand what they are saying. But I definitely understand this music. It’s the happiest music that I can think of. It’s like sunshine. It’s such a joy to listen to this band, to hear the way they play together. I have never heard a single recording they made that I did not enjoy. I really love them. I try to play along with this record all the time on my guitar. I understand the spirit of it. I sort of think everyone in the world would enjoy their music a bit. You’d have to be quite hard-hearted to hate them.
What album is not considered a classic, and you find that mystifying?
Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, Unconditionally GuaranteedIn actual fact, not only is this not considered a classic, but Beefheart fans hate it. It’s thought of as a terrible sell-out record,which it is in some ways I suppose, and which Beefheart kind of acknowledges by being photographed for the cover clutching huge wads of cash and looking sinisterly pleased with himself. It also didn’t work. He didn’t become a huge commercial star because of this. But he should have done! It’s so much fun!
It’s an awesome rock record. I like Trout Mask Replica and all his weirder stuff too, but it’s not going to stop me enjoying this one in any way. It has such great grooves and hilarious lyrics. Peaches, the last track, is a masterpiece. I quite often DJ songs from this and people always dance to it. Sometimes I think Beefheart fans don’t want people to get into him. They’d rather keep him all to themselves or something. They always dismiss his most easy-to-like stuff. I don’t know. I think this should be considered a classic anyway.
What album is an outlier for you given your usual taste?
Ann Peebles, Tellin’ ItTo be honest, I don’t listen to a massive amount of soul. I tend to find a little goes a long way. Especially with 70s soul things. Butlately, I’ve been listening to this album over and over and over again. It’s wonderful. That Hi-records drum sound, and the awesome musicianship of drummer of Mr. Grimes, is so sexy and groovy and cool.
And I love the way she sings. It’s emotional, but she isn’t busting a gut wobbling her vowels all over the place in the preposterous melodramatic style of today’s soul-wannabes. She’s got restraint, and sensitivity. She knows how to put on a brave face, which is the saddest thing of all. And she can be totally powerful too. It’s quite masterful, her singing.
What album has your favorite lyrics?
The Mountain Goats,Sweden I never fail to be impressed by John Darnielle’s lyrics. Every one paints a perfect little heart breaking situation, in the simplest mostelegant language imaginable. This album is like a greatest hits, as so many Mountain Goats albums are. The first time you hear it you think, ‘This is just some bloke thrashing a guitar into a tape machine.’ But the more you play it, the more little details come out.Eventually, you are singing along with the whole thing from top to bottom and somehow every song is a smash hit in your little world.It’s a constant inspiration to me.
What album were you embarrassingly late to discover?
The Velvet Underground, White Light/White HeatI had everything else they’d ever done, and all Lou Reed’s solo albums, but I had avoided this one. I had heard it at people’s houses,and thought it was just noise, and thought maybe it was Captain Beefheart fan syndrome when Velvets fans said this was their favorite Velvets album: ‘Let’s pick the hardest Velvets album to like and say that’s the best one, and drive away all the fairweather fans.’
Well, I finally got a copy of it, more of less just to complete my collection. And I played it once. And I became hooked. This is nowquite possibly my all time favourite album. For it’s spirit, it’s adventurousness, it’s daring, it’s sense of four people in a room together having fun, for John Cale’s lead vocals, and for two of the greatest rock and roll tracks ever recorded, “I Heard Her Call My Name” and the title track. It’s a crazy masterpiece and I love it to pieces.
David Tattersall is an ordinary guy who sings about normal things that happen while you live. The simplicity and the musical quality of his band, The Wave Pictures, I have become a strange phenomenon in the musical. You can tell because they enjoy playing. All the time between the road and studying nonstop. Beer just published in the breakers, a new album with the label Mushi Mushi. Perhaps his most carefully. The band played Friday in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Before, Tattersall Audiomatón is subjected to.The news on other websites• Spanish-language websites• in other languagesThe anthem of my life. Ay, Ay, Ay Antony Santos. Because I really feel what it feels like being me.The best song of all time ... White Light White Heat, The Velvet Underground. Because it has lots of energy. It sounds as if he were going really well.... and worst of all time. Another Way To Die by Jack White and Alicia Keys. Because it has no quality. Neither trapping nor fun. It's pretentious and cynical because that clearly is made for money. Even for the low standard of the songs from James Bond, this is a song very disappointing.The song I would have liked to compose. Eight Pictures of The Go Betweens. Because history has so much mystery, a strange drum solo and a small joke in the lyrics: when is a door not a door? When it's a jar?, Ja, ja, ja ... Influenced me in many ways. I love the minor chords and the voice of Robert Forster.The last song I love it. Brother David, Laurel Aitken. Because it is the last song I heard and loved.The best album of all time. Let It Bleed, The Rolling Stones. Perhaps the contribution of Ry Cooder introduces mandolin on Love in Vain. Or a million other reasons, some sentimental, others only by the brightness and the wave of their recordings at that time.The saddest song. Let Him Roll, Guy Clark. If you listen you'll know why. It's sad, but very uplifting. It's a great story about a man who knew Guy Clark. It is very authentic.The song that I like to sing in the shower. Great Balls Of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis. Actually I do not sing in the shower. Never. I just wash and go. But maybe if I did, sing this! It's a fun song.The most overrated band in history. Pink Floyd. Because they are all bad. Pompous, pretentious, inmusicales. There is nothing worse than a song like Comfortably Numb, which goes beyond and always.The song I want to ring my funeral. Potato Head Blues by Louis Armstrong. Because that might have one of those old-style funerals in New Orleans with a band playing up stuff like this. It would be fun.The best love song. Love Minus Zero / No Limit Bob Dylan. It is very tender and sweet and not at all false. Real seems very genuine and contains details of what you like Bob Dylan. Not object to the person, or declares his love in some way vague. She really likes. And has that chord Lou Reed Sweet Jane then used to create this great effect. And a sweet melody.A song to start a road trip. Mario de Franco and The OK Jazz. You up morale. Makes you feel a little happier for a moment.The last great song for a night of DJ. Lazy Poker Blues, Status Quo. Because it is so sexy rock to slow and boogie.A song to start a revolution. Tutti Frutti, Little Richard. Because it is exciting. And you have to be a little excited to start a revolution
Prince Albert, Saturday, June 18 2011
Some bands have the luck of being in the right place at the right time and bag a pretty easy ride to success on the back of the musical zeitgeist of the day.
Then there’s the likes of The Wave Pictures, where it seems the odds are stacked firmly against them.
After all, they’re from the backwaters of rural Leicestershire, musically they belong in the whimsical yet tuneful indie archives of the mid 80s and they had to toil away for ten years self-releasing albums before a label took a punt on them.
Conversely and somewhat perversely, it’s this dedication to their cause and strength of spirit that the 150 people packed inside The Albert not only love, but respect.
Their attitude is perfectly embodied by drummer Johnny Helm who has to be ordered to stop selling t-shirts and chatting to fans to join his bandmates on stage so the gig could start.
Once underway they pick and mixed their way through their back catalogue. There are no musical surprises, just a fine collection of songs featuring singer David Tattersall’s wry and sardonic vocals on top of jaunty guitar which skits above a tight rhythm section.
Despite releasing their ninth album only last month, they’re already showcasing new material with ‘Seagull’ signalling a more polished, sing-a-long pop sound.As prolific and consistent as they’ve been, their best could still be to come
David Tattersall. The Wave Pictures. Hollie Jones 
