Heartworms has finally arrived.
The South London artist’s long-awaited debut album Glutton For Punishment is out now, marking a new era for a project that has already made waves with its fiercely original take on post-punk, goth, and beyond.
Produced by Dan Carey, the album is a minefield of sounds: tense, cinematic, and unafraid to get uncomfortably personal. Across nine tracks, Jojo Orme (aka Heartworms) picks apart broken relationships, childhood memories, and the strange allure of self-destruction.
“We’re all so drawn to punishing ourselves, and I’m always drawn to singing about it, and thinking about it,” she says.
Orme, whose obsessions include military history (she volunteers at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon) and classic poetry, weaves an album that balances precision with chaos.
“Making this album has left me with more questions than answers,” she admits. “It’s shown me how much I’ve still got to learn, and how many more stories I want to tell. Life is forever moving; Heartworms is forever evolving; nothing is ever finished. I’m proud to have contributed a verse.”
New single ‘Mad Catch’ and a sound that won’t be boxed in
Leading the charge is Mad Catch, a song that dives into the absurdities of modern dating. “‘Mad Catch’ is about online dating but can be portrayed in many ways of human relationships and how awkward and diabolical it can be,” Orme explains.
With its wiry guitar lines and off-kilter energy, it sits alongside ‘Warplane’, ‘Extraordinary Wings’, and ‘Jacked’ as one of the album’s most immediate highlights.
And if anyone thought Heartworms would simply ride the post-punk wave, Glutton For Punishment proves otherwise.
“With my EP, people kind of pigeonholed me into post-punk,” she says. “I was like, ‘Cool, I can do that, but I can also do way more’. I can do post-punk, but I can also be poppy and catchy, and this album represents that. I think people might be surprised when they hear it.”
A year of building momentum – now the takeover begins
The release of Glutton For Punishment follows a run of major milestones. Heartworms spent 2023 touring with The Kills, The Last Dinner Party, St. Vincent, and Jack White, with a huge London headline show at Village Underground capping off the year. Now, with a 2025 UK/EU headline tour kicking off next week, she’s stepping fully into the spotlight.
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