London-based artist JoJo Ormes, known professionally as Heartworms, ushers in a new era with a pop-ish sound, a contrast to their previous work.

Debuting back in 2022 with her single ‘Consistent Dedication’, their sound utilised whispered vocals and heavier bass to conjure a grungier sound. With her impressive growing dance-punk discography, their fresh interpretation of their own sound brews an energy throughout their new single‘Guess I'm Stuck In The Dark’. It slowly becomes more and more layered, opening the single with intimate whispering and entering into an enthralling guitar-filled beat, evocative of Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand's signature sound.

Interestingly, while the song instantly begins on their Spotify release, the music video includes a performance piece reciting John Keats’s 1814 poem ‘On Death ’. The poem is an existential piece, describing living life in a dreamlike state and fear, with the only release from this blurred living being death.

JoJo Orme's vocals are reminiscent of Indie idol Lorde, a tart and raspy sound that still holds the aggressive feminine take that the song requires. With clear spoken-word imagery of sitting around the freezer and filling time with pointless activities, while contradictorily panicking to “Marla”, the song clearly represents feeling stuck in an emotional spot and being unable to escape, referencing back to the tonal reference of Keats: “These are the thoughts I’m thinking of some new way of giving up”.

Paired with these lyrics, the point of isolation in thought and a lack of movement are solidified further with the reinforcement of “Guess I’ll do it then / I can’t be here again / Guess / I’ll do it then / I can’t be here again”.

Ultimately, this new single is a poignant piece in Heartworms' discography that reveals an intimate struggle and an incredible knowledge of performance and literature, whilst displaying their blatant talent and versatile sound.