White Zombie

Handnumbered papersleeve
Described by erstwhile collaborator Robyn Hitchcock as ‘the male Kate Bush’ Paul Roland has been quietly yet prolifically releasing one classic psych album after another since his début ‘The Werewolf Of London’ back in 1980. From the chamber folk acoustic of ‘A Cabinet Of Curiosities’ (this listener’s personal favourite) to the gothic Nyman-esque piano of ‘Pavane’ to the dark, full blown psyche rock of ‘Duel’ and the twisted garage stomp of ‘Bitter and Twisted’, Roland is a true original whose latest offerings always demand and deserve serious and rapt attention
‘White Zombie’ is no different and follows Roland’s trajectory of consistently adding something new to the existing, familiar Roland ‘sound’ whilst maintaining what is both unique and essential about his existing work. Originally spawned from a concept around a re-imagined soundtrack for the 1932 Bela Lugosi film of the same name, these recordings grew to include various new Roland compositions as well as a series of chants composed by the singer that he created from singing alongside percussion and drum tracks. What has emerged is an ambitious, highly original and deeply immersive piece of work; another ‘must have’ in the Roland canon