Vatican Vamps
Aokigahara
Independent
3.5 out of 5 stars
The brainchild of Nat Lort-Nelson, Vatican Vamps’ debut EP Aokigahara is not surprisingly heavy on dark subjects. But the prolific multi-instrumentalist Lort-Nelson (The Bunny Gang, Richard Smallwood) takes his punk, reggae and gospel roots and layers them into an edgy alternative rock. It doesn’t matter that there might be lines about sacrifices and tearing flesh, it’s delivered with a triumphant rhythmic groove that is much more optimistic than it might seem.
