Indie stalwarts The Wave Pictures have announced their new album, Gained / Lost, set for release on 27th February 2026 via their new label home, Bella Union. The album follows 2022’s When the Purple Emperor Spreads His Wings, which was reviewed by KLOF’s Thomas Blake, who declared that, with over twenty albums into their career, they were producing their best and most stylistically varied work; this trend looks set to continue with this new high standard.
Known for their prolific output and DIY spirit, the new record sees the trio—David Tattersall (guitar, vocals), Franic Rozycki (bass), and Jonny Helm (drums)—blending 60s garage, 70s classic rock, and 90s American indie.
Alongside the announcement, the band has shared the first single and album opener, “Alice.” The track, described as a “swooning beauty,” draws heavy inspiration from the dream journals of William Burroughs. They shared:
“This song was influenced by the book ‘My Education: A Book Of Dreams’ by William Burroughs, which is a kind of dream journal, but written in clean, almost hardboiled prose. Alice takes place in a dreamworld. Burroughs might have called this world The Land of the Dead. There is a promise of ice cream in a world between life and death, a kind of holding station. Everybody’s spirit returns to the universe. If this was a movie it would be directed by David Lynch, and it would be black and white. Musically, the song has the kind of open-hearted optimism of a Daniel Johnston or Buddy Holly. There’s a multicoloured joy to the music, and a black and white strangeness to the lyrics.”
Gained/Lost was recorded live over seven days by Jim Riley at Ranscombe Studios, capturing the raw, unfiltered chemistry the band has honed over nearly three decades. The recording highlights Tattersall’s celebrated guitar work—described as “lyrical as Jerry Garcia” and “spikey as Tom Verlaine”—which famously led broadcaster Marc Riley to call him “The greatest guitarist of his generation.”
Tattersall’s lyrics are noted as “postcards from the space where memories fragment and dreams fill the cracks,” finding magic in the mundane. Even the album cover, designed by Tattersall, is a tribute to Robert Frank’s iconic artwork for Exile On Main Street.
An interesting aside: if you’ve read RJ Smith‘s excellent American Witness: The Art and Life of Robert Frank, you’ll know that Frank’s relationship with the Rolling Stones became quite complex following his 1972 film Cocksucker Blues (the same year as the release of Exile On Main Street). He spent a considerable amount of time travelling on tour with the band to complete his film documentary. This raw and visceral portrayal included scenes of drug use and sexual encounters. The band were not happy with the film, so they restricted its showing. As a result, it could only be shown a few times per year with Robert Frank in attendance (due to Frank’s reclusive nature and dislike of public attention, this didn’t happen very often).
The Wave Pictures will follow their London Christmas Extravaganza show next month with a full UK tour in February and March 2026, supporting the new release.
Gained / Lost is available for preorder now via Bella Union: https://bfan.link/gained-lost
The Wave Pictures live dates:
20th December – London – The Lexington (Christmas Extravaganza)
25th February – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
26th February – Newcastle – Cluny 2
27th February – Glasgow – Stereo
28th February – Nottingham – Old Cold Store
1st March – Oxford – Jericho Tavern
3rd March – Bristol – Strange Brew
4th March – Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach
5th March – Manchester – YES
6th March – Brighton – Dust