Bloodworm’s ‘Bloodlust’: A gothic-flecked gem waiting to be found
Don’t let their small discography fool you, Bloodworm are post-punk pros.
Photo: Jacob Harris
Although relatively quiet on the release front, Nottingham’s Bloodworm have spent the last eighteen months honing a sound that refuses to fade into the background. As well as amassing a significant hometown fanbase — which led to a sold-out hometown show at The Bodega — the post-punk trio also caught the attention of Suede guitarist Richard Oakes, who offered them a support slot on the band’s seventeen-date sold-out tour after seeing the post-punk trio live in London.
Now touring with the rock veterans from January 30th to February 21st, Bloodworm are ready to make 2026 count, and new music is firmly part of the plan. Marking their first release of the year, Bloodlust is a confident and propulsive single that signals a band who are as driven as their music is.
With a lively, elastic bassline and a sense of classic post-punk poise, Bloodlust pulls you straight into Bloodworm’s gothic-flecked world. Echoes of The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen surface naturally, particularly in the track’s atmospheric guitars, which shimmer and churn with a moody elegance that could easily have found a home in the darker corners of the ‘80s.
Written about the push and pull of relationships and the claustrophobia of small-town life, the song thrives on immediacy. That tension is mirrored in a sharp, spiralling guitar solo that carries the track breathlessly towards its conclusion, never quite allowing the listener to settle.
Polished yet burning with intent, Bloodworm sound less concerned with chasing trends than with honouring the artists that came before them. On Bloodlust, they invite us into their moody, immersive realm, and you can be sure we’ll be returning to it very soon.
Bloodlust is out now via Your Childhood Records.