Paul Roland - 2019 - 1313 Mocking Bird Lane

(52:29; Unifaun Productions)

Track list:
1. Salon of the Senses 6:17
2. In My Next Life 5:18
3. When Chet Baker Sings 3:19
4. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane 2:33
5. She's a Mind-Reader 4:09
6. Voodoo Man 3:55
7. Joe Strummer Said 3:25
8. Another Ingmar Bergman Interlude 4:54
9. Little White Lies 3:41
10. Won't Go Surfin' No More 3:55
11. She's My Guru 4:08
12. Summer of Love 3:07
13. 1313 Mocking Bird Lane 3:48

Line-up:
Paul Roland - vocals, guitars, piano, violin, saxophone, percussion
Joshua Roland - bass
Violet the Cannibal - drums
Marco Colombo - guitars
Mick Crossley - guitars
Annie Barbazza - vocals
Ella Callegari - vocals


UK composer, author, journalist and musician Paul Roland has been an active creator of art for a number of decades, With a widespread catalogue of creations to his name in the world of the written word as well as the vast universe of music. A good while ago I was sent one of his albums, and after a way too long period of time I have now been able to add a few words of my own in terms of trying to describe the contents of this production. The album in question is called "1313 Mocking Bird Lane", and was released back in 2019 through the Italian label Dark Companion Records.

The music we get to enjoy on this production is one that by and large comes with a solid presence of the 1960's to it. Different varieties of acoustic pop and rock as well as material with more of a singer/songwriter foundation dominate the album, and just about all of them come with some variety or other of psychedelic flavoring. Most common is the use of swirling and surging subtle electric guitar textures and effects in songs that otherwise revolve around the acoustic guitar as the main provider of melody and lead motif. In the slight left turn department we also get a few cases of songs that have a bit more of an Americana touch to them, and one example of a song with a bit more of a blues feel to it.

We also get a couple of songs that are more solid deviations from the material explored elsewhere. One of them being a fuzzy, dark toned affair of the kind that probably resides in a parallel universe to The Cramps somewhere, and the other one a creation that appears to add a more primal garage rock twist to a landscape otherwise dominated by a dark and brooding kind of music that probably comes with a trademark stamp marked "The Doors".

Besides the music by and large being of a retro-oriented style in general and with a 60's feel in particular, the vocals are a distinct feature throughout. Roland has a voice with talk-like qualities, and he has a good ear for dramatic and theatrical delivery too. There's a bit of a crossover to thespian territories going on here, and while perhaps not a universally appealing feature I rather presume that quite a few people exist who will find this aspect of the material to be both enchanting and enriching. What cannot be argued is that this does give these songs a rather distinct edge.

If you tend to enjoy the naive world of 60's gentle psychedelic rock just as much as the darker and more brooding varieties of the style that appeared towards the end of the 1960's, and you find a theatrical and at times slightly dramatic execution of those types of music to be generally interesting, I'd say that there is a very good chance that "1313 Mocking Bird Lane" will be regarded as a worthwhile album to discover. And that this may also lead on to a deeper dive into the creations of Roland as a writer as well as musician.

Olav M. Björnsen, January 2023

Links:
http://www.paulroland.net/
https://www.darkcompanion.com/