Nottingham band Blight Town fuse elements of progressive post-hardcore, math-rock and pop in a thrilling sound that they describe as “eclectic, bouncy and catchy” and “spicy, tech and chaos.”
The quintet of Jake Hough (vocals), Sam Hough and Will Emmerson (guitars), Scott Taylor (bass) and Joseph Smith (drums) met at school 15 years ago when they were just learning their instruments. They went their separate ways playing in different bands across varying genres but always found themselves writing or jamming together in their free time. So just before lockdown, they decided to start playing shows and releasing music under the Blight Town moniker.
On the sound they’ve honed, the band told us: “We’re a pretty mixed bag so there’s likely to be something in our catalogue that you’ll vibe with! Our first release was a blend of metal, math rock, post-hardcore and everything in-between, whereas our second EP and our new single Pipe Dream lean a little more towards pop and alternative rock.
“We basically chuck all of our favourite elements of post hardcore, math rock, metal, alt rock and noise into a blender, and the result is high-pitched Saosin/Circa Survive style vocals, techy, syncopated guitars with lots of harmonies, effects and tapping, funky slap bass and hard hitting drums and percussion. With our music there’s always going to be something that jumps out at you, whether it’s a nice funky part to dance along to or a heavy breakdown that people can bang their heads to, so it’s always fun seeing the mix of dancing and moshing at our shows.”
As they mention, our latest taste of the band’s music is Pipe Dream, which was released in October. It opens up with a funky building riff that continues under feisty vocals then a cool lick supports the engaging chorus “Maybe it’s not meant to be, Money fame and royalties, And if you think that I’m delusional, I might agree, Spill my guts for all to see, Dreaming of the major leagues, But I guess nothing is worth having if it comes for free.” It drops into a laid-back verse before the chorus returns, which ends with more intense vocals and a heavier guitar riff. The chorus returns again before the track concludes with the chunky guitar riff.
On the track, the band said: “The reception has been pretty overwhelming! It’s another step further in the poppier direction we chose for our second EP but still retains the riff-centric nature of our back catalogue, which was all much more technical and proggy. So there was definitely a mix of nerves and excitement when it came to how that would be received by our fanbase. But it was cool playing it for the first time since release at our Fright Town show and seeing that people already knew the lyrics, especially considering this is probably the poppiest, most “singalong” kind of song we’ve written. If you haven’t given it a spin yet, expect a blend of post-hardcore and poppy alt rock! Catchy choruses with a beefy breakdown.”
Pipe Dream follows on from the band’s 2022 EP It Lives…, which saw the band move in a different direction to their heavier self-titled 2021 debut EP, which includes bangers like Argument Bargument and opener Frostilicious. The latest EP includes the excellent Hawaii Six-O, which opens up with delicious flowing guitars and engaging vocals but intensifies with heavier vocals through a big chorus, a delicious driving riff on Feel Better and the engaging final track Swerve. But a personal favourite is a nod to their post-hardcore roots in Al Gore Rhythm, which sees more intense vocals, driving drums and delicious guitar licks throughout.
The Blight Town sound is influenced by a wide range of different music, from breakcore and chiptune to, in their words, “weird lofi hip hop stuff.” But a unanimous favourite of all band members is Deftones, along with bands like Delta Sleep, Hail the Sun, The Fall of Troy and Loathe.
And on what inspires them to write music, the band explains: “We’re generally just influenced to write by a sincere love for music and a compulsion to write and make art that we enjoy. Sometimes that can be a pain… We’re incredibly picky about what makes it out of the demo stage, so writing is often a very long process, but we love having new stuff to perform.
A lot of inspiration also comes from each other and our chemistry as a songwriting unit. When Will and Sam write they always churn out amazing riffs, and it gives us real motivation to try and add to that and help bring out the full potential of each song. Lyrically, Jake often seems to channel negative emotions and situations into something more positive. A lot of it is very introspective, but the new single moves away from that a little and is more an analysis of our experience of the music industry and how it works, or doesn’t work, for bands on the underground level.”
Blight Town have been busy playing shows to finish out 2023, and you can see them playing at Techabilitation aka UK Tech Fest at The Hairy Dog in Derby at 5.30pm on Saturday (10 December) – a couple of hours either side of our previously featured bands Rosen Bridge and The Cartographer. They’re also gearing up for their biggest tour yet with Blue Eyed Giants in February, which includes headline shows at The Key Club in Leeds and their first in Manchester. The band also teases that they have new music to keep our ear out for in their pocket, and hope to be back in the studio shortly.
And they add: “Blight Town’s music comes from a place of pure love for the craft. We appreciate every single one of you that has given us the time of day and given us the opportunity to write the music we’ve always wanted to, whether that be coming to a show, listening on Spotify, checking out the videos on YouTube, buying a tee on the merch store, showing love for the art in whatever form. It never stops meaning the world to us!”
You can follow Blight Town on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Blight Town by subscribing to our Spotify playlists GigRadar Metal, GigRadar Post-Hardcore and GigRadar Rock
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