South London auteur Heartworms – aka Jojo Orme – has returned with her brand new single ‘May I Comply’ on Speedy Wunderground Fresh, fierce and kinetic, whirring with elevated static energy, the track is alive with stylish urgent futuristic soundscapes and slick poetic imagery. Produced by multi-award-wining, Dan Carey, ‘May I Comply’ premiered with Lauren Laverne on the BBC Radio 6 Music Breakfast show and is the first Heartworms release since her acclaimed debut EP A Comforting Notion which arrived in March this year. A limited number of transparent red flexi-discs will be available from secret locations indicated across Heartworms socials and streaming.
Heartworms will play her biggest headline show to date at Village Underground on 21st November. Tickets are available HERE. Heartworms has also announced US touring with The Kills for 2024.
Speaking about ‘May I Comply’ and its accompanying video by Gilbert Trejo, Heartworms says: “When I wrote this track I just wanted to get over an ex and to tell my little brother he’s good enough… turned out to be a lot darker than I thought.
Gilbert Trejo adds: “For ‘May I Comply’ Jojo and I wanted to lean harder into the stark black and white world that Heartworms is building, washing everything but the band out in a sea of emptiness. Between shooting ‘24 Hours’ and ‘May I Comply’ I’ve had the chance to photograph Heartworms on tour and was excited about capturing a bit more of the energy of Jojo’s performance at this stage.”
Uniformity plays a huge role in all things Heartworms The metronomic music and meticulous fashion of bands like Interpol and Kraftwerk greatly inspires her, as does PJ Harvey, whose dark sense of humour and lyrical dexterity permeates her songwriting. The end result is a life affirming exercise, an opportunity to expel her own self and passions; which include military history (she has a volunteering role at The Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon) and the poetry of Pound, Thomas and Keats.
Heartworms’ debut EP A Comforting Notion received glowing praise from the likes of NME (“the next great cult band”) who awarded it a perfect five stars. The EP’s pummelling singles ‘Retributions Of An Awful Life’ and ‘Consistent Dedication’ led to nods in the NME 100 and Dork Hype List for 2023, while a string of further press plaudits were received elsewhere from the likes The Sunday Times (Breaking Act) and So Young Magazine (where she featured as cover star). Both singles were added to the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist following support from Chris Hawkins, Steve Lamacq, Lauren Laverne, and Tom Ravenscroft at the station. The singles also grabbed spot plays from Radio X’s John Kennedy, BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders and Gemma Bradley, and Apple Music 1’s Matt Wilkinson.
Heartworms – May I Comply (ffm.to)See Heartworms live in 2023/24:NOVEMBER
21 | Village Underground, London
25 | Festival Les Creatives, Geneva
30 | EKKO, Utrecht
DECEMBER
1 | Muziekgieterij, Maastricht
2 | Zeitgeist Festival, Doornroosje, Nijmegen
3 | HINK Festival, Paard Van Stal, The Hague
JANUARY
6 | Rockaway Beach, Bognor Regis
FEBRUARY
1 | The Roundhouse, London*
27 | Webster Hall, New YorkMARCH 1 | 9:30 Club, Washington DC^
2 | The Orange Peel, Asheville^
4 | Variety Playhouse, Atlanta^
5 | Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville^
7 | House of Blues, Houston^
8| Stubb’s, Austin^
9| House of Blues, Dallas^
11 | Sunshine, Albuquerque^
12 | The Van Buren, Phoenix^
14 | The Wiltern, Los Angeles^
15 | Ace of Spades, Sacramento^
16 | Fox Theater, Oakland^
*w/ The Last Dinner Party
^w/ The Kills
***
instagram – @iamheartworms
Photo credit: Gilbert Trejo
