British
singer-songwriter Paul Roland, has remained a cherished figure on the
goth and psychedelic pop periphery for 40 years, spinning musical tales of
Victorian villains, eccentric Edwardian inventors and the supernatural against
a backdrop of gothic rock, psych pop and dark folk, since 1979. This year
he returns with "1313 Mockingbird Lane" his 20th album,
released by Italian label Dark Companion. His last album was "White
Zombie", released in 2016.
The album
contains 13 tracks with the name of the album being taken from the cult 60s
television show The Munsters, which was the address of the mansion where the
family lived. The opening track, "Salon of the Senses", is a great
example of Roland’s songwriting, a dreamy calm psychedelic piece. Where on "My
Next Life" we have a quirkier Sixties pop with xylophones and trippy
guitars. Paul’s characteristic voice is in great form, still able to captivate
the listener to his storytelling. After the rhythmic "When Chet Baker
Sings" with its nice acoustic guitar strumming and xylophone work, things
speed up on "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" where we have the
garage punk moment of the album. The trip to the Sixties continues with "She’s
A Mind-Reader" while with the rockier "Voodoo Man" the electric
guitar comes to play bringing a more rhythm & blues feel.
Roland returns
to his acoustic guitar for "Joe Strummer Said", a nice song tribute
to the late Joe Strummer of the legendary punk band The Clash. On the stripped
down "Another Ingmar Bergman Interlude" we only have Paul’s subtle vocals
and his lush acoustic guitar playing. He returns to his quirky Sixties pop on Little
White Lies" and "Won’t Go Surfin’ No More" which is also
enhanced with Hammond organ. On "She’s My Guru" and "Summer Of
Love" we have more acoustic tracks which have some folk elements. The
album closes with "1313 Mocking Bird Lane", which after a fairly long
drum intro, burst into a 60’s garage songs with a great groove, winking an eye
to the cult television show from which it is inspired.
Roland has a
unique gift for song writing unlike anyone else. His highly literate lyrics,
often macabre themes and strong melodic gift has attracted an increasingly
large and loyal cult following while his proudly independent ethos has ensured
he has remained a cherished niche artist. With "1313 Mockingbird
Lane" he manages to deliver once again a lively great piece of work which
sits nicely with the rest of his long discography.
Review by
Nick Drivas.
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