Paul Roland, one of England’s great cult songwriters, has released one of his most intriguing albums with “Bates Motel”. Strange Brew editor Jason Barnard highlights the interesting tale behind the record’s release and gives the long player a spin.
Last year Paul explained on his Strange Brew session that he was placing the finishing touches to an album with strong links to the Velvet Underground and John’s Children.
Paul: “When the VU album was released I interviewed Nico, Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison for a Sunday newspaper. In the course of that interview I explained who I was and they became quite intrigued. Sterling in particular was keen to collaborate. He liked my songs, particularly the structure so I wrote some songs for them. I got some tapes together and sent them over to America but there was some technical incompatibility problems. Around this time I also wrote songs for Andy Ellison of John’s Children and their reunion album. Andy said my style was ‘The closest to his old friend Marc Bolan’ which was a great honour for me.”
Paul continued: “So I wrote songs for these two projects but they all got shelved because I gave up music for seven years. So I’ve pulled this half completed project out of the woodwork and finished it off. It’s not Paul Roland imitating the Velvet Underground or John’s Children. It’s the songs that I wrote for …Nico, Sterling and Maureen… that I would have invited them to play on plus [the tracks I wrote] for John’s Children. The John’s Children ones are the darkly humorous and rocky whereas the Velvet Underground ones are a little more sinister and atmospheric.”
And the result?
On “Bates Motel” Paul seamlessly weaves the dark and the light.
Opener “I Was A Teenage Zombie” sets the tone for an hour of enjoyable dark rock with tragicomic undertones. Second number “Kali” ventures in expands the aural palette with psychedelic space rock.
The title track is classic Paul Roland inspired by Psycho, blending gothic Americana typified with lyrics with an undercurrent of murderous intent: “I was rolling west on Route 66, just outside of Fairville, no more than a couple of clicks, when the sky turned blacker than a biblical plague and the night descended like the axeman’s blade.”
Other highpoints include the crunching guitars of “Tortured By The Daughter of Fu Manchu” and “Crazy” encapsulating the best garage rock. The biblical “Cain” has an incessantly catchy hook with the memorable lines summarising the album theme beautifully, “If there is light then there’s darkness as well. Every pleasure brings the promise of pain.”.
In summary “Bates Motel” is not only an important curio for fans of the Velvets and John’s Children but essential listening for those interested in garage and goth rock.
More information can be found at:
