It's an expanding universe, so there is a logic in going from Mad Kingdom to Chronic Empire to the new Cosmology.

Robin Stanley is progressing, and, crazy old world though it may be, the titles of his albums reflect that.

It's taken a long time to get here, though. Now in his 50s, a longtime employee of BC Hydro and a family man living in Walnut Grove, Stanley always displayed a knack for songwriting from his first recording with The Novels and the first band he led, Fun With Numbers, in the early 1980s.

Stanley is originally from Vancouver, and was mainly inspired by the British new wave music revival that happened at the end of the seventies.

Taking his cue from Ray Davies and Joe Strummer, his charisma made him a natural frontman to a number of bands that played to audiences at some legendary Vancouver clubs during the eighties.

In the early 90s he moved to the suburbs (Langley) and set up a home studio, where he developed his songwriting and recording skills. He became a multi-instrumentalist, learning to play bass, keyboards, harmonica, as well as guitar.

But marriage and its incumbent responsibilities placed his desire to make rock and roll on a 20-year hiatus, more or less.

He renewed his determination to be recognized as a songwriter with his first album, 2004's Mad Kingdom.

Despite the disillusion with the music business he's met since then, Stanley still is game even if his priorities are different.

"I've had to do it all myself," he explained. "Until somebody gives me money for a budget, that's the way I've got to work. I have no choice.

"If things were going crazy," Stanley continued. "I could take time off. I won't go to Saskatoon and play to an empty bar. I never have. But if things take off, I might consider it.

"I'll only get involved with it on my own terms. If that means playing a coffee shop in Langley, I'll do it."

By that he means McBurney's Coffee House, where he's performed off and on over the years, and where in a trio on May 26, he'll launch his new album, Cosmology.

His determination to make music came from seeing The Kinks in 1977 and his enthusiasm was stirred up again by watching a girl's reaction to Soul Asylum at the Commodore.

As Stanley talked, he'll freely mention Ray Davies (of The Kinks), Tom Petty, Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Strummer. All these influences can be detected in degrees on Cosmology.

For instance, Strawberry Blonde recalls The Kinks' Big Black Smoke.

"It's always been the same with me," Stanley conceded.

"Songs were stockpiled, lots were new. So, it's a mixture with all my albums. Strawberry Blonde goes back to 1983. It was the first good song I ever wrote."

These influences might be inter-related but they've also reinforced his belief in himself as a songwriter.

This is why despite disappointments with such things as Bravo TV or CARAS, he has invested several thousand dollars in promoting Cosmology.

"This is uncharted territory for me," he said of hiring an American indie promoter, but if the song being hyped, Make Up Your Mind, is successful, Stanley will achieve some satisfaction.

"If they're meant to be, you just go. I learned that after 30 years."

That focus single from Cosmology is already garnering attention. It's already been added to radio stations in the U.S., and along with his radio promoter, Stanley is happy with the results.

"There will be more stations playlisting the song as time goes on," he said, noting songs from the album received initial airplay in Europe and the States prior to the official radio campaign.

While the new CD was actually released May 15, it will be available at his first ever launch, and is also accessible at CD Baby, iTunes, and through most digital music providers.

Although this is his third album, Stanley said it's his first launch - his hesitation in past fueled by a fear that no one would show.

But that's not expected to be the case on Saturday night. He's expecting to pack the house for this release party at McBurney's, 20504 Fraser Hwy. starting at 8 p.m.

The launch will feature a live concert featuring not only Stanley, but fellow long-time Langley resident Ian Crew - of Brookswood - on guitar, as well as Vancouver accordianist Kurt Nystrom.