25 January 2025

PAUL ROLAND – Morbid Beauty (2024, LP/CD Blue Matter Records) 

 

 

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Blue Matter Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Black Vinyl (issued with a double-sided 12″ insert and a plain white die-cut inner sleeve), 220 copies

Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition (includes 2 bonus tracks)

Release Date: 2 Sep 2024

Paul Roland is a Psych legend so there’s no need for an introduction for this British singer-songwriter, author, and journalist who was born on 6 September 1959 in Kent… So the release of an album is news in itself and let’s take a look at the label’s press release:

“Blue Matter are extremely proud to be releasing a brand new album by the great English eccentric, Paul Roland. ‘Morbid Beauty’ will make its’ appearance in mid 2024, and is a fantastic example of Paul’s trademark mixture of gothic rock and psychedelia, if perhaps a little more rock flavoured than usual. To Blue Matters’ surprise and delight the album features our old friend Mick Crossley (Flyte Reaction) on guitar throughout. Paul Roland is from Kent and has been making music since the late 70s. He has issued countless albums on a variety of labels and has been cited as a ‘psych legend’, a ‘true cult hero’ and a ‘great innovator’. Frank Zappa is quoted as saying somewhat amusingly ‘Paul Roland writes nice music, but it’s too complicated for me!’ Paul’s musical reputation is probably somewhat greater in Europe than in the UK, which seems strange as he has been so influential to many British acts. Paul is also a celebrated music journalist and successful author having written books on cinema, history, and music. For us, to be able to release a new album, and a fantastic album at that, by an artist of his calibre is a long and handsome peacocks’ feather in Blue Matters’ Edwardian top hat”… 

“Morbid Beauty” is released through Blue Matter Records, a new label from the UK, established by Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond) and Gary Urwin. “Morbid Beauty” is written and produced by Paul Roland who also is responsible for the vocals, piano, organ, flute, violin, cello, saxophone, and percussion. Violet The Cannibal is on drums, Jenny Benwell on electric violin, and Mick Crossley on lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar… The vinyl LP edition of “Morbid Beauty” contains 7 songs while the CD one includes 2 more songs as bonus tracks. The album starts with “The Stars In Their Millions”, the unparalleled exceptional Paul’s style unfolds by the very first second. There’s a dark mysteriously-covered PSYCH-flavored soundscape with a complex but cool sound that dangerously flirts with light Medieval, with Art-Prog, and dark Psychedelia, under a huge enchanted Gothic-like cloak! Superb! “Graveyard Train” starts with another dark and mysteriously drenched intro. At the same time, the band slowly unfolds a groovy rhythmic Psych-Rock motive with a moving train” beating-drum and a tremendous Southern-Rock-like haunted guitar sounding, acting like a ghost train marching, cool! Side ‘A’ closes with my highlight, the astonishing “The Light Divine”. Paul sings “… journey to the center of the mind, leave yourself and reality behind…” and this is exactly what you get here! A dark gothic-like PSYCHEDELIC Trip to the center of your Mynd, this is PSYCH to-the-bone (!!!) becoming Baroque, then Prog, then Gothic, an extremely Psychedelically flavored Mind-Blowing epic Trip!!! Side ‘B’ opens with “Candyman”, a fast Psych-Rock tune, creepy and psychedelically haunted with an intense mid-80s Goth-Rock Psych-something sound! “Wilful Angel” starts and immediately you reminisce about the 80s. Those who lived and experienced that decade know what I’m saying here. This is Psych with a dark gothic-like edge full of 80s aesthetic under a fabulous marching trippy drum beat! “Mephisto’s Blues” is an upbeat, full-of-rhythm psych-rock track dedicated to the dark lord… The LP album comes to an end with “Godzilla”, a track that starts with a trippy psychedelically-distorted intro sooner to be transformed into an ongoing piece of adventurous PSYCH music! This is magically epic! May I call it Spooky Psychedelia? Yes, I may!!! The 2 CD bonus tracks are “Lilith” a dark and tortourously slow piece of creepy psych music, a bewildering beauteous track (!), and “Dreaming Of The Lizard King”, a typical PSYCH Paul Roland track with extremely interesting lyrics and a mind-bending staggering psych-a-something soundscape! Probably, it’s an ode to the effects of too much drinking… “Gonna follow the yellow brick road”… Wait for me Paul, I’m going to join you! “Morbid Beauty” is a Masterpiece destined to be CULT in a few years! Got yours yet? TimeLord Michalis  

Tracklist

A1 The Stars In Their Millions 6:52
A2 Graveyard Train 5:30
A3 The Light Divine 8:28
B1 Candyman 4:06
B2 Wilful Angel 3:58
B3 Mephisto’s Blues 5:03
B4 Godzilla 8:08
 – Lilith (CD Bonus Track) 5:35
 – Dreaming Of The Lizard King (CD Bonus Track) 7:03

 

 

Check PAUL ROLAND Bandcamp

Get it via BLUE MATTER RECORDS 

Check The Author PAUL ROLAND 

Visit PAUL ROLAND Facebook 

 

 

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