If you didn’t know any better you’d think “Salford Love Psalm” by Vatican Vamps was a song that came out of a band from Manchester, UK. Salford being in the northwestern part of Greater Manchester is a dead giveaway as a reference for anyone that has paid close attention to the history of Joy Division and Factory Records and their respective personnel. But singer and guitarist Nat Lort-Nelson apparently spent time growing up in Manchester though Vatican Vamps is based in Denver. But these biographical, historical and cultural realities aside, the song with its spiraling dynamics and its keen fusion of electronic and rock aesthetics and its channeling of brooding, melancholic and darkly thought-provoking observations and pronouncements into upbeat, danceable post-punk pop tells you it’s Manchester in spirit if not as a matter of geographical fact for the band. Yet even without these resonances, the way the song hits into a heady groove with expansive atmospheric guitar work and urgent yet introspective vocals is irresistible at a time when a lot of post-punk and indie rock is favoring a more thin and less sonically rich sound while chasing and failing to catch a genuine dance music cadence. Vatican Vamps have united all those creative impulses and urges in this song. Listen to “Salford Love Psalm” on Spotify and follow Vatican Vamps at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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