The Wave Pictures, London Bush Hall

The Wave Pictures

May 16, 2010

It feels like every discussion of The Wave Pictures has to include, somewhere, a warning, a note, or small print of some kind – ‘THE WAVE PICTURES ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE’ is the implication from critics, fans and non-fans alike (and for some fans certainly, it’s their main attraction). And it’s true, to an extent – people who value conventional hooks or choruses, musicians who sing in tune, stage presence or top-of–the-range production may want to look elsewhere. This is a shame though, as behind the occasionally sloppy musicianship (which in itself is often charming, reassuring or life-affirming with this band) are songs about the extraordinary highs, glorious messes and almost ever-present boredom of ordinary life. For many people, these are ‘hooks’ in themselves.

Before the band take to the stage at Bush Hall, however, comes Hugh John Noble – he was the original drummer in The Wave Pictures, when the band formed in a village near Loughborough in the Midlands. Currently a songwriter in his own right (and looking for a new band, as he made clear), Noble has been invited back to support the band on their current UK tour.

His set starts a little shakily with Noble singing solo, though momentum picks up as The Wave Pictures’ Johnny Helm and then Franic Rozycki join him on stage. Noble has the same skill with startling, interesting lyrical imagery as David Tattersall, though he currently lacks The Wave Pictures’ more memorable melodies. He grew in confidence though, as the set wore on, suggesting that it is only a matter of time before Noble finds himself with a permanent backing band.

In a live setting, The Wave Pictures have honed their own unique craft through almost constant touring and recording since Moshi Moshi released their first ‘official’ debut album in 2008. Though the band, particularly Rozycki, have never looked completely comfortable in front of an audience (more like a group of flatmates who’ve found themselves in an increasingly successful band – which they are), Tattersall has grown into his role as a frontman.

With The Wave Pictures though, it’s the songs that speak the loudest, and the set opens with numbers like the surreal, poignant ‘Susan Rode The Cyclone’ and the brilliantly, heartbreakingly odd ‘Strange Fruit For David’. That the closest this band has come to a sing-along chorus is four lines on the differences between a sculpture, marmalade and a sculpture of marmalade speaks volumes.

The Wave Pictures’ songs lose a little of their menace in a live setting (on record, sex, violence and despair seem to lurk a little closer to the surface) but they gain a kind of communal power. Bush Hall is the perfect setting for the band – Tattersall’s vital lyrics are not obscured by too small or too large a room. As a result, new songs like ‘Blind Drunk’ sit nicely along older favourites like ‘Just Like A Drummer’ and ‘I Love You Like A Madman’, while Johnny Helm takes lead vocal duties on ‘Sleepy Eye’ and everyone just melts.

So while on the surface, The Wave Pictures can seem an awkward prospect, their set demonstrated that it is their knack of singing about the strange and the mundane that pulls, gradually, more and more listeners in. And you get the sense that they’re the kind of band who will continue to gig and record, quietly turning out minor masterpieces and revelatory live performances as long as they can, ready for an audience to find them.

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