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Bloodworm

Nov 03, 2024 By Dom Gourlay Photography by Maeve W/The Bodega Web Exclusive

It’s been a remarkable two years for Nottingham-based three-piece Bloodworm, having only played their first show with the present line-up at the tail end of 2022. Since then, they’ve emerged as one of the bands most likely to follow the likes of Do Nothing, Divorce and Sleaford Mods out of the city onto national recognition and beyond. This year alone has seen them grow from headlining the 100 capacity Jam Cafe in January to topping the bill at the Bodega (which is almost three times the size) just nine months later. With the show being sold out over a month ago, Bloodworm could probably have moved tonight’s gig to a bigger venue so those fortunate enough to be present grasped the opportunity to see them in an intimate hometown venue the last time for the foreseeable future.

With so many local talents coming through at present, there’s a wave of even newer acts waiting in the wings to follow Bloodworm onto bigger things. One of those are Swallowtail, a four-piece from Nottingham whose music takes inspiration from both the lighter and heavier sides of shoegaze and dreampop. Singer Katie Prescott (who also shares guitar duties) is a transcending presence throughout, ably supported by the three musicians alongside her. Opener “Drift” regales all the brooding atmospherics of a youthful Cocteau Twins while the pulsating “Vega Burns” and former single “Spring Guillotine” bare similarities in style and structure to Irish trailblazers Just Mustard and Newdad respectively. By the time “Thin” brings their six songs set to a dramatic close, Swallowtail already have the audience in the palms of their hands. Both mesmerising and visceral when it mattered. The future looks indelibly bright for Swallowtail.

For Bloodworm, tonight’s show represents another landmark in their rapid progression. While it’s probably fair to say their focus thus far has been hoing their live show, which admittedly reaches new peaks with every passing show. There’s also a new found confidence in George Curtis’s songwriting, which becomes evident throughout this evening’s set. Having been labelled “goth” by many observers in recent months, its quite apt Bloodworm have chosen Halloween to play their biggest Nottingham show to date. Pumpkins adorn the front of the stage with the band’s name scrawled across them, and while bands like The Cure and The Smiths will always be an influence - one of the former’s classic singles is impeccably covered later - Bloodworm are so much more than just goth revivalists or A.N. other post-punk band.

It’s a measure of their growth in stature that the band’s two recent singles “Depths” and “Back Of A Hand” are dispatched early on in the set, not to mention having supreme confidence in the mainly new material that follows. “Alone In Your Garden” and “Bloodlust” follows, both two of the band’s oldest songs which have taken on a new lease of life since those early demo versions from two years ago. While singer/guitarist Curtis is undoubtedly the focal point, the taut rhythm section of Chris Walker (bass) and Euan Stevens (drums) is what drives many of these songs to the next level.

A trio of new songs follow, one of which entitled “The Crown” bears strong similarities to “In The Flat Field” by Bauhaus. Of the other two, “Day Break” explores new sonic textures while “No Face” has future single written all over it. Each showing very different sides to Bloodworm’s make-up. Meanwhile, long-standing live favourite “The Clairvoyant” has more in common with Black Sabbath and Monster Magnet than pints of cider and black down Camden Market. Its status as the band’s anomaly justified by its evocative presence which brings the first part of the set to a close.

For the encore, Curtis returns to the stage alone before launching into a fearless and frankly delectable version of The Cure’s “Lovesong”. A band whose music Bloodworm often find themselves compared to, their frontman more than doing himself and his bandmates justice as he makes the song his own, Which leaves just one song remaining, “Cemetery Dance”. The demo of which grabbed people’s attentions in the first place,and as the rhythm section rejoins Curtis on stage, there’s limbs akimbo and writhing bodies everywhere out front. Crowd surfers are carried on shoulders, pumpkins clawed off the stage and carried around the room like trophies, and even a mini Wall of Death sees the crowd part in two along the centre for the final chorus which sees drummer Stevens launch himself into the crowd.

As Samhain celebrations go, they don’t come much better than this.

Bloodworm, 2025 is yours.