The debut album is an eloquent and intense introduction to a thrilling outlier of the scene.

Dark clouds gather as Heartworms, the alias of Jojo Orme, opens her debut album with a signature cinematic intensity. Orme, Speedy Wunderground’s latest chosen one, has crafted a record steeped in dystopian gloom—music for those who find solace in the shadows. Produced by the ever-visionary Dan Carey, ‘Glutton for Punishment’ channels a rich lineage of gothic pop, evoking comparisons to PJ Harvey and Anna Calvi while carving out Orme’s own distinctive space. It is a debut that is as unsettling as it is compelling, and one that more than justifies the whirlwind of hype surrounding its release.

The record opens with a storm-soaked prelude, setting the tone of impending apocalypse before flowing seamlessly into opening track ‘Just To Ask a Dance’. Its relentless opening builds in intensity, a crescendo that finds release as Orme’s delicate vocals cut through. That fragility becomes a striking counterpoint to the thunderous, driving beat of ‘Jacked,’ and it is this dynamic contrast – vulnerability set against raw power – that makes the record so gripping. Visceral and direct, there is a confrontational edge to ‘Jacked’ that goes beyond Orme’s trademark minimalist paranoia, adding a combative bite that hints at even darker depths to come. Two tracks in, and there’s something raw and fantastical here; something powerful we can cling to, which the recent wave of post-IDLES punk has lacked.

There’s a macabre, Cure-esque waltz to ‘Warplane’, the album’s lead single and a fitting return to Jojo Orme’s enduring fascination with the Second World War. Orme’s intrigue for military history, a passion she channels both in her music and her volunteer work at the Royal Air Force Museum, finds a striking outlet here, as a relentless techno beat drives the track, underpinning themes of conflict and violence. Yet, as with much of her work, the track weaves these historical preoccupations with deeply personal narratives, touching on childhood and fraught family dynamics to create something both unsettling and profoundly human. ‘Warplane’ is a track that balances the epic with the intimate, reaffirming Orme’s place as one of the most compelling voices of her generation.

‘Glutton For Punishment’ wears its goth-tinged post-punk influences proudly, reaching back through time to forge a connection with its predecessors. Yet, this is no mere exercise in nostalgia, as the album injects new life into the loosely defined “post-punk scene.” Beneath its gothic aesthetic lie dance music influences, from the stripped-back experiments of 1990s northern England to more modern touchstones like LCD Soundsystem. The latter’s angular dance-punk is evident on ‘Mad Catch’—a standout track that’s far poppier than the album’s darker moments. It is a track about online dating and offers a moment of levity amid the album’s moody depths. The song speaks to modern discontent with a uniquely timeless outlook, revealing Orme as a cutting lyricist.

In nine tracks, ‘Glutton for Punishment’ elevates Orme from an intriguing newcomer to a cemented cult force. There is a real depth to Heartworms’ music that matches the image and proves her to be a true and powerful outlier of her time. Building on the foundations laid by earlier releases like ‘Retributions of an Awful Life’ and ‘A Comforting Notion’, the album carves out her place in a post-punk scene with an impossibly high barrier to entry. Strikingly individual and boldly experimental, it’s a record that places Orme in a class of her own.