Heartworms

Heartworms is the South London project of Josephine Orme, a post-punk artist whose music is stark, theatrical, and tightly controlled. Emerging from the Windmill-adjacent London guitar scene, Heartworms quickly developed a distinctive presence built on military rhythms, gothic atmosphere, icy guitar lines, and vocals that can move from a low, severe command to sudden, anxious force. The project fits post-punk scope clearly, but it is not simply revivalism. Songs such as "Consistent Dedication," "May I Comply," and material from A Comforting Notion use minimal space, repetition, and dark melodic hooks to create pressure, often suggesting discipline, dread, obsession, and ritual. Heartworms' sound draws from goth, post-punk, darkwave, and art-rock traditions while still feeling tied to the current wave of UK bands that value angular movement and live intensity. The arrangements are often economical, letting drums and bass set a hard spine while guitar and electronics add shadows around the edges. What makes Heartworms compelling is the tension between elegance and threat. The music feels carefully arranged, but never passive, and Orme's voice gives it a human volatility that keeps the darkness from becoming merely decorative.