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Oct 01, 2024 Web Exclusive By Dom Gourlay Photography by orangeyougladmaia

Meet Bloodworm, a three-piece based in Nottingham. Formed during lockdown by singer/guitarist George Curtis and drummer Euan Stevens before recruiting bass player Chris Walker in the latter half of 2022. The current line-up has been active ever since, playing over 100 gigs while establishing themselves as one of the most exciting new bands to emerge from the UK in recent years.

With a musical palette leaning towards the darker side of post-punk, Bloodworm have been compared to the likes of Bauhaus, The Cure and The Sound among others. Their debut single “Back Of A Hand” came out last month (September 2024) to overwhelmingly positive reviews with the follow-up (“Depths”) due on October 31st to coincide with their hometown Halloween show and biggest Nottingham headline gig to date on the same night at the Bodega, which has completely sold out more than 4 weeks in advance.

Under the Radar caught up with the trio recently to discuss their origins, inspirations, and future aspirations.

Dom Gourlay (Under the Radar): When and how did the band get together?

George Curtis: Mid-Covid, I was doing a lot of skateboarding because there was nothing else to do. I saw Euan (Stevens) at the skate park. He came over to me and said a brief “Hello, do you want a beer?” or something like that. I told him he was skating wrong, and he offered me a beer, then another beer, and we ended up having a ton of them! Got absolutely hammered and we’ve just been mates ever since. We mentioned that we both liked music, that he was a drummer and I was a guitarist. Because we weren’t allowed to meet up with anyone else at that time, me and Euan just started practicing and playing together in the shed in his parents’ garden. Just making horrible drunk music every single day pretty much. Euan learned to play drums properly during that period. His playing was rough when we first started!

Euan Stevens: I had four toms, two floor toms, China cymbals and two full metal bass drums.

George Curtis: Basically, he was trying to play like Lars Ulrich! So, we started playing and I wrote a lot of really bad grunge music at the time. Then we just decided to have a serious go at writing songs, played a couple of gigs, and eventually found Mr. (Chris) Walker here and got him in the band.

Chris Walker: That’s a funny story. So, when I fell into the picture of Bloodworm, my old band were doing a headline show in Leicester and we were looking for local bands to support. These guys came up, and I went to school with George (Curtis) so I kind of knew him already, but wasn’t mates with him at school as he was a year younger than me. He supported my band, and me and my brother were watching them do their soundcheck and we thought they were sick. Bloodworm opened for us, and I really liked them. Then about a month later, I saw a story on their Instagram page stating they were looking for a guitarist not a bass player, and I was absolutely hammered when I replied to the story saying I’ll do it. I didn’t have a guitar, but I did have a bass and that was that. I think I was talking to Euan at the time on the band account.

Euan Stevens: We were probably both drunk! This whole band exists because of beer, basically.

When was your first gig?

Chris Walker: Our first show with this line-up was the headline show for Big Difference at The Cookie in Leicester which would have been in November 2022.

You all bring something very different to the band in terms of musical influences, sounds and ideas. Is that something you were conscious of from the beginning? Who is the driving force behind Bloodworm?

George Curtis: Me! I am quite bossy. I write songs and tell everyone what to do. We try and incorporate their tastes within that.

Euan Stevens: We all have our own tastes but we also do like what we play. George writes the bulk of the songs but we do enjoy playing them.

Chris Walker: We do have big differences in tastes to each other but I think that’s a good thing.

George Curtis: Basically, I’ll write a song then make a demo for it. I do a rough version of everyone’s part for it then they’ll adjust it from there in rehearsals so we can see what works and what doesn’t. Something I’ve recorded on my own doesn’t necessarily sound the same with a full band. Our main focus is on getting the energy right. We’re a live band so we want to make it sound as good as we can.

The songs in your live set are very different in make-up and structure, whether it be a six-minute epic like “The Clairvoyant” or three-minute pop songs like “Depths” or “Cemetery Dance.” Is that deliberate?

George Curtis: It’s just whatever comes into my head. I lot of those songs were written about where I was at, at the time. It’s probably partly due to what I was listening to but its also whatever I was playing as well. For instance, when I wrote “The Clairvoyant” I was probably listening to a lot of Black Sabbath because it has more of a doomy sound. Whereas when I wrote “Cemetery Dance” I was probably listening to a lot of The Cure. That was one of our earliest songs. What I was listening to used to affect how a song I wrote sounded but it doesn’t really affect it that much now. I write more with a vision in mind of the song to begin with. It’s all about trying to get a feeling out of a song. So, if the guitar riff goes a certain way I’ll try and make that invoke everything else around it.

How do you feel about being labelled a “goth band”? Particularly when there’s so much more to Bloodworm than just the goth element.

Euan Stevens: I think we’re goth-tinged. We’ve never pushed ourselves as a goth band. I think it is quite goth sounding in parts though, mainly the guitars.

George Curtis: It’s 100% inspired by goth, or at least the initial idea of the band but its not necessarily just confined to that one element. I think some of the comparisons we get to certain bands are because people don’t know anyone else that sounds dark. I love Robert Smith and The Cure but I don’t really think I sing like him. But then everyone’s voice is different and a lot of that is just people trying to compare something with something else so they’re just going to poke it in that direction. That kind of music is what interests me but the actual songwriting I don’t think really revisits that stuff because it can’t really go anywhere. I feel like goth music has gone as far as its going to go. I’d rather take a sound from that and push it in new directions. Some of the songs I’m trying to write are pop songs, but not necessarily from a mainstream standpoint. I like the idea of something being catchy that you can dance to. I don’t want Bloodworm to be another nostalgia band. There’s a lot of bands like that, especially at the moment. People just working on nostalgia where nobody has any new ideas. I’m very much trying to not do that but obviously I am inspired by a lot of older stuff.

Nottingham is currently going through a resurgence in terms of new bands. How does it feel seeing Bloodworm cited as one of the figureheads for that scene?

George Curtis: It’s a bit fucking crazy isn’t it really! I’m grateful for it, but the reason we’ve taken the direction we have is because we’re trying really hard to get our music heard outside of Nottingham. I want us to be more than just a big local band.

Chris Walker: Nottingham will always be a big part of us, and in the grand scheme of things we’re still little. But I do think we’re also a very hard-working band. We gig all the time, whether its little tiny gigs to no one in random cities to big shows here in Nottingham.

Euan Stevens: I think we’re hard working in other areas as well. George is always writing songs and the number of emails I’ve sent to venues, bookers, and promoters just to get us to this point as well.

Bloodworm currently has a manager (Isaac Bloomfield of IBE Music). How did he become involved?

Euan Stevens: We were on BBC Introducing and Isaac’s song was on the same show, so he sent us a private message after saying he was a big fan. So, I replied and sent him the demo of “Alone In Your Garden,” and he started coming to gigs. We started talking after every show, and I told Chris and George about it and he just became involved ever since. He’s taken a heavy weight off my shoulders.

George Curtis: It makes everything easier when someone else is looking after the bookings and business side of things. Songwriting especially.

You’ve already played well over 100 shows in two years yet have very few recordings out there at the minute. Do you see yourselves more as a live band than a studio one at present?

Euan Stevens: I’d say so. People keep asking when are we going to release more music but I always say why don’t you just buy a ticket and come and watch us live instead? I think we sound better live.

George Curtis: We really enjoy playing live as well. Also, there a fair few bands that have really cool recorded music and can’t even play it. The way we operate is very old school in a way. It’s not based on us recording music then having to put a band together so we can play it live. All our music is tried and tested on the road. Before we even think about recording a song, we’ve played it live at least 50 times. I think that’s a good part of our sound because we can see how people react live in real time to how the song is. If something is a bit boring you can see it in people’s faces so we might change it after. I think it helps us with our sound.

Bloodworm have become one of the most talked about and ultimately popular bands in Nottingham over a relatively short space of time. Did you expect this kind of adulation at such an early stage in the band’s career?

Euan Stevens: Not when I was in that shed with George during lockdown, no! When I think we’re supporting Shame next week at a sold out venue in Huddersfield it’s just mad. But then when I think of all the hard work we’ve put in maybe I shouldn’t be surprised? I don’t know.

George Curtis: The momentum’s been awesome. We’re really happy with how things have gone so far.

What’s been your highlight as a band so far?

Euan Stevens: Beat The Streets Festival in January for me. That was mega.

George Curtis: It was literally packed out the door as we were about to come on. Seeing so many people there was just cool.

Even Stevens: Dot To Dot was great as well. I think every Do To Dot and Beat The Streets we’ve played in this city has been incredible.

George Curtis: Also, the release of “Back Of A Hand”. The reception has been great.

“Back Of The Hand” came out earlier this month to an overwhelming reception and “Depths” follows at the end of October. Will there be a physical release for either/both? Are there any plans to release more songs this year?

George Curtis: I’d love to put both those songs out on a seven-inch or something, because people want it. I’ve been asked for physical copies at a lot of gigs it’s just logistically I don’t know how to do it. But it’s definitely something we’ll look at doing. “Depths” is coming out digitally on Halloween then that will be it until 2025, but there’s a lot happening next year.

The three songs that were originally on Spotify (“Cemetery Dance”, “Bloodlust” and “Alone In Your Garden”) have since been taken down but remain in the live set. Will they be re-recorded and released at a later date?

Euan Stevens: They’re going to come back at a later date bigger and better.

George Curtis: I don’t think those recordings did the songs justice. They’re cooler songs than what those versions made them sound. I wasn’t happy with the mix even though I did it myself. But I was also learning how to mix while I was doing it so they didn’t end up sounding that great. I think they can be really cool songs with the right mix so they’ll be back.

What are Bloodworm’s plans for 2025?

Euan Stevens: We’re kicking off the new year at Rockaway Beach on the Sunday, which has actually sold out today as well. There will be a lot more tunes.

George Curtis: We’d like to give Europe a little visit so hopefully that might happen.

Euan Stevens: Another big UK tour as well. We’re looking to cover all the places people wouldn’t normally go to.

George Curtis: We’re aiming to visit as many places as we can, mainly because its more fun to play in smaller venues sometimes and you get really cool crowds.

Euan Stevens: Nothing ever really happens in a lot of these places so they get really excited when a band comes to play there.

What advice would you give to a new band just starting out?

Euan Stevens: Get a stack of demos down if you can because then you can send them out and show people what you’re really about.

Chris Walker: Just gig!

Euan Stevens: Send emails to people to try and get gigs, then when you can get gigs play as much as you can. Gigging is practice at the end of the day and it gives you that experience of playing live in front of audiences. No matter how big the audience is, its good practice. Just keep doing it and eventually the right person will see you.

Are there any other bands you’d recommend that Under the Radar and its readers should check out?

Euan Stevens: This incredible Australian band called Body Maintenance. They’re really new. Then I’d probably also say High Vis.

Chris Walker: Slate for me. They’re from Wales and they’re mint. We saw them at Dot to Dot Festival in Bristol and they were mega. I’ve got a ticket to go and see them in Sheffield next month at the Hallamshire Hotel.

George Curtis: No! My only focus is Bloodworm. I put all my time into it. I write songs and if they don’t fit Bloodworm I put them on the back burner then revisit them again in a couple of weeks. This is my only thing so I put all my energy into it.

Bloodworm’s debut single “Back Of A Hand” is out now on all streaming platforms.

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