Heartworms’ Glutton For Punishment pulls together goth, post-punk, and pop into something sharp and self-assured. Jojo Orme’s voice moves between cold detachment and raw intensity across tracks that balance minimalism with dramatic flair. The production is clean but never polished, the kind of record that thrives on tension.
"Just To Ask A Dance" and "Warplane" highlight the album’s dark yet danceable side. Synths pulse over mechanical beats, while guitar lines cut through like brittle wires. Both tracks blend organic and synthetic sounds, with driving rhythms that keep the momentum steady.
"Jacked" and "Celebrate" lean into post-punk’s harsher corners. "Jacked" is skeletal and tense, reminiscent of early Joy Division, while "Celebrate" channels goth rock’s more ritualistic side, capped by a shouted release at the end.
The slower moments—"Extraordinary Wings" and "Smuggler’s Adventure"—add some breathing room without sacrificing intensity. "Extraordinary Wings" is cold and measured, while "Smuggler’s Adventure" moves through multiple moods, anchored by a detached but commanding vocal.
The title track closes the album with a slow build, starting acoustic before swelling into something heavier, each section adding more weight until it collapses into silence.
Heartworms doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but Glutton For Punishment never feels derivative. It taps into familiar sounds but twists them enough to feel current, driven by a versatile voice that shifts from snarls to whispers with ease.
Release date: February 7th, 2025
Produced by: Dan Carey
Label: Speedy Wunderground
Rating: 7
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