If you happen to dare to enter the void, anticipate to listen to Heartworms soundtracking the journey. Jojo Orme has set the UK DIY circuit aflame along with her singular efficiency type, whereas NME hailed her as “your new favorite band of the 12 months” upon the 2023 launch of her debut EP ‘A Comforting Notion’. Now, teaming up once more with Speedy Wunderground producer Dan Carey, Heartworms has unleashed her tightly written, pulse-raising debut album, ‘Glutton For Punishment’.
On this survey of man’s most masochistic impulses, Heartworms expands on the gothic dance-punk that first garnered her acclaim. Let’s be clear, she will be able to nonetheless completely rip a riff like she did on ‘A Comforting Notion’ – the sheer physicality of the guitar on ‘Jacked’ can have you thrusting very quickly. However Heartworms additionally pulls some new playing cards from her sleeve: ‘Simply To Ask A Dance’ opens with a buccaneering string part, whereas an acerbic Kraftwerkian synth cuts via rippling journey hop on ‘Extraordinary Wings’.
Heartworms’ spoken phrase supply can be a minimize above a lot of her post-punk friends. At numerous factors all through the document, she inhabits girlish innocence, weary gravitas, and even a touch of deviousness. ‘Warplane’, the almighty anthem of the album, demonstrates this greatest: Heartworms’ prophetic whispers progressively construct, reaching an operatic cry within the refrain. And but, among the many numerous facades, Heartworms maintains a real rawness that pulls you in every time.
Maybe that’s additionally right down to the Cheltenham native’s idiosyncratic lyricism, which feels uncovered with out freely giving an excessive amount of. The grungy ‘Smuggler’s Journey’ descends right into a poisonous concoction of isolation, hopelessness and hypervigilance, as Heartworms narrates recollections from a tumultuous childhood: “Head straight to a struggle / That’s simply how I really feel”. The title observe closes the album with an unsettling second of intimacy. Over an sudden acoustic guitar, Heartworms repeats the plea she started the album with: “All I wish to do is dance, dance, dance…”
It’s uncommon to see artists come bolting out the gate with such a robust identification, however right here is somebody who is aware of precisely who they’re, what they need, and nonetheless daring to attain extra. It’s no shock Heartworms has taken off lately, however ‘Glutton For Punishment’ proves she will be able to stick the touchdown.
Particulars
- Launch date: February 7, 2025
- File label: Speedy Wunderground