The Same Crooked Worm

a debut album of rare intensity, the same crooked worm by the vatican cellars is a poignant exploration of death, loss and guilt. beautifully crafted songs are blended with dark strings and beguiling harmonies inspired by folk, country and classical music. their sound is quintessentially english in the same vein as nick drake, the lilac time or tindersticks. they have been described as 'folk-noir', which encapsulates the melancholia of their material. hailing from london and orange county, via oxford, the vatican cellars are made up of principal singer-songwriter simon hughes on acoustic guitar and vocals and californian born the birthday girl on vocals and various instruments including harmonium, glockenspiel, ukelele and melodica. they are joined by tom adams on cello and double bass as well as russ wainwright on drums. simon met the birthday girl in paris, where their previous bands were playing on the same bill. they found that they had both lost someone close to them and a friendship blossomed. the birthday girl encouraged simon to perform the songs he had written to help deal with his grief and the vatican cellars was born. they helped each other through the rough times by reading stories and poetry over the phone late at night. the literary theme is very prevalent throughout the album, which is visualised in the battered old book artwork by daniel michael clark.