The self-deprecating Mark Blanford admits he has been blown away by the positive notices he’s receiving for advance tracks ‘Place Of Peace’ and ‘The Hole’ from his accomplished solo album If Destroyed Still True. These songs are just two examples of his carefully crafted, gently philosophical expansive pop sound; other styles are available, and Blanford can’t resist going back to his rock roots on occasion. But if his music is diverse, the lyrical themes fall into a pattern, inspired by a tumultuous time involving toxic friendships, bereavement and family rifts. This eventually resolved into a collection about, he says, ‘seeing the darker side of yourself, the negative thoughts, anger and sadness, but trying to be kind to them.’

Blanford freely admits he has never written a set of songs like this before. Since taking up guitar in his Guns N’ Roses-loving teens, he has always played in bands and reckons he’s a veteran of ‘seven or eight’ original outfits plus function music and for-fun covers bands, including a punk pop ensemble called Saylor Twift. Even now, he gigs regularly in alt.folk group The Jig Show.

‘There was a fanzine scene so there was a little crowd of like-minded teenage weirdos who used to go to all the gigs,’ he says, recalling his earliest callow efforts while growing up in London. ‘We were young and scrappy so it fell by the wayside when I moved away. But I just loved doing it so much. The fact that it didn’t lead anywhere in terms of success didn’t matter.’

Though he is now drawing from a deeper well, Blanford applies the same enthused attitude to his solo material. He had never considered working alone until challenged by his friend Emily Kelly, of folk duo The Jellyman’s Daughter, to write an acoustic EP. He produced enough songs for an album. Bruising Words And Bitter Pills was released in 2020 and bridged the way for the wider canvas of If Destroyed Still True.

‘I don’t know if I’m suited to acoustic,’ muses Blanford. ‘I’ve got too many things I hear when I write a song. I think I had always been afraid to be creative without a band around me but I’ve really enjoyed the process, and stopped worrying so much about trying to fit into a certain niche or lyrical topics. That allowed me to be more experimental but also pick out what works for me. I’ve got better at discerning what I like in a swathe of ideas.’

As to that name, Wildtype is both a nod to one of his previous bands and a genetics term (Blanford originally moved to Edinburgh to study genetics and then virology). ‘The last few years have been very interesting for me. My friends wondered if the ex-virologist had any useful advice during the pandemic.’ And did you? ‘Just wash your hands and wear a mask.’

If Destroyed Still True is self-released on Friday 5 July.