With each new album England’s psychpop guru Paul Roland matures as a songwrit- er and story-teller. His latest project ‘Brighton Rock’ is an adaptation of Graham Greene’s 1938 novel concerning a teenage criminal and his tragic relationship with a naïve young girl in the back streets of the once fashionable British seaside resort.

Roland has always been adept at evoking a particular place, historical period as well as creating character sketches, but ‘Brighton Rock’ sees him blurring the boundary between lyricist and author as he brings Greene’s ill-fated lovers and their associates to life:- Pinkie, the psychopathic teenage thug and Rose, the trusting little waitress who he forces himself to romance to ensure her silence. Kolly Kibber, the former criminal associate who Pinkie murders, and Ida the older woman who takes it upon herself to bring his killer to justice while saving Rose from her violent lover.

The lyrics are literate yet the music harks back to The Who and The Small Faces with brash energetic 60s style riffing (‘A Face In The Crowd’, ‘Hello Fred, the Thin Youth Said’, ‘Little Scarface’) contrasting with tender intimate acoustic interludes (‘Rose’, ‘An Afternoon In The Country’, ‘She’d Wished For A Church Wedding’) and ominous tracks (‘Phony Alibi’, ‘Ouija Board’, ‘I Won’t Swing For No Dirty Sneak’, ‘Got Me A Job To Do’).