Leicestershire three-piece The Wave Pictures formed back in 1998. Since then, the band, consisting of David Tattersall on vocals and guitar, Franic Rozycki on bass, and Jonny Helm on drums. The band is well known inside the indie pop circuit, and have prolifically released a set of albums. In addition to this, they have toured with bands such as Allo Darlin’ and have done radio sessions for the legendary DJ John Peel.
Their track “I Could Hear the Telephone (3 Floors Above Me)” is co-written and produced by the artist and poet Billy Childish. It starts off with a classic rock influenced guitar, reminiscent of Rory Gallagher. It really enhances the impact of the track, and the musicianship is strong and confident, including an impressive solo from Tattersall.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PDkmcc8rS8?rel=0]
Lyrically, the track is an outlook on a telephone conversation, and Tattersall describes the setting in almost picturesque detail: “The phone pressed tight against her ear like a sea shell”, and this helps imagine the atmosphere during the phone call. Rozycki plays a walking bassline pattern, which works very well because it holds the track together however the drums could have been pushed higher in the mix.
Regardless of this, the track is a breath of fresh air, and a strong taster of what their forthcoming album, Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon, set for release in February, will sound like.
Words by Ermis Madikopoulos