The Wave Pictures

The word has spread, and The Wave Pictures are scared. Not scared of performing, or being seen, but scared of the film, of actually entering a process they can’t control.

Yet the guitar sets the tone, without any hesitation – a 1959 Levin that Howard has lent them – and Dave Tattersall’s voice mingles it with the words, the band’s lyrics.

It’s easy to enter the reckless world of this (already) 10-year-old band (and how many albums?): you just have to follow the voice and let it catch your breath. Because their writing style is unique. The action takes place in a corridor outside a trendy bar in Paris where all the one-song-performers usually meet every Sunday for an open mic.

“I will write you without poetry, Sweet-----heart”. The camera catches light and a glimpse of grace shared by a couple of curious followers. The Wows, Lisa Li-Lund and Howard Hughes back up the voice on the choruses, and Hank Williams seems to be dancing somewhere amongst them. Their singing is as natural as their words, and their style is the one of equilibrium and balance.

The second take is more typical of Dave, Jonny and Franic’s home recordings. Here, between a quick soundcheck and an unforgettable show, it suddenly sounds like those CD-Rs The Wave Pictures released over the years. “We Dress Up Like Snowmen” is one of the two hits on their recent 7-inch, released a couple of weeks ago by Moshi Moshi. Golden Hits for the radio of another planet.

“You were sitting on my Christmas tree and you were looking down at me…”. Nobody - except maybe the exiled Stanley Brinks – can write such simple and moving words.

The last take is the freest and the most beautiful. Dave just lets go, and his voice mingles with Lisa’s. Jonny and Franic are filmed by Jey like two melting snowmen drawing a sudden bond between the simple joy of being alive and the joy of playing music. The Wave Pictures are in town, and emotions come barging in.

How long before their name is on everyone’s lips? And lips start tuning into their songs? A crazy while, I hope.

Text by Howard the Coward