Roland typically writes his songs in the form of stories, often addressing historical figures, characters from literature and film, or his own creations.
Described by Music Week as a "psychedelic cult celebrity", Roland has enjoyed an underground career as opposed to mainstream success, gathering a stronger fanbase in mainland Europe than in his native UK.
[10] In 1980 he released his debut album, The Werewolf of London (originally credited to the Midnight Rags), inspired by horror stories and Edwardian era concerns.
[4][7] Ian Canty of Louder Than War observed "a nice Garage Psych sound", adding that "at times this album could almost be superior New Wave pop like XTC or Magazine but it's always pulling in weirder directions".
[5][11] 1985's Burnt Orchids was characterised by Music Week as a "pleasing early [Pink] Floydish collection";[12] Roland considers it his first "authentic" or "real" album.
[13] Appraising Danse Macabre, Prog's Kris Needs referred to "horror-psych masterworks" including "Witchfinder General", "Requiem", "Twilight of the Gods" and the "hallucinogenic waft" of the title track, as well as an "uncanny" cover version of Pink Floyd's "Matilda Mother".
[7] A Cabinet of Curiosities (1987) and Happy Families (1988), influenced by EC Comics and H. G. Wells's writings on the Edwardian era, were more sparse, stripped-down baroque albums.
[11] Nevermore (2008) saw Roland recount the case of Jack the Ripper, revive stories by Edgar Allan Poe, and address characters such as Leatherface (from the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) and Captain Nemo (from the novels of Jules Verne); it was positively received by Metal.de.
Initially intended as an unofficial soundtrack to the 1932 film starring Bela Lugosi, it turned into a collection of songs with incidental music.
[4] Roland often signed to labels that soon went out of business, rendering his musical output only partially available; several of his works have been revised and republished during the 21st century.
[25] In 2010, Marco Rossi of Record Collector described Roland as "a cherished figure on the gothic rock and psychpop periphery for 30 years", while praising his "impeccable narratives".
[6] Rossi's colleague Ian Abrahams proclaimed Roland a "psych-pop genius", his work "full of gruesome atmosphere" and featuring a "mastery of character".
[14] Roland has gathered a stronger fanbase in mainland Europe than in his native UK,[20][22] which Abrahams called "a peculiar situation when you hear his quintessentially eccentric Englishness".
[22] Louder Than War's Ian Canty hailed him as a "master story-teller" with a "unique gift for songwriting", asserting that "Roland belongs alongside great British musical eccentrics like Ivor Cutler, Robyn Hitchcock, Momus and Billy Childish".
[23] Ian Canty wrote that the album is "perhaps [Roland's] masterpiece – eleven sepia-tinted excellently constructed novellas wrapped in pristine Psych Pop, totally out of step with the modern world of music at the time and benefiting hugely from the fact".