{"id":814735,"date":"2026-10-26T20:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T20:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/814735\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T20:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T20:22:10","slug":"heartworms-tells-us-about-dance-driven-single-guess-im-stuck-in-the-dark-and-tackling-uncertainty-and-dark-humour-on-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/814735\/","title":{"rendered":"Heartworms tells us about dance-driven single ‘Guess I’m Stuck In The Dark’ and tackling “uncertainty and dark humour” on new album"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heartworms<\/a> has shared her bold and dance-y new single \u2018Guess I\u2019m Stuck In The Dark\u2019 and spoken to NME about what to expect from her hotly-anticipated new album, tackling \u201cuncertainty and dark humour\u201d.<\/p>\n

The first taster of the rising London goth rock star\u2019s follow-up to her 2025 acclaimed debut \u2018Glutton For Punishment<\/a>\u2018 comes as a strutting and groove-based indie noir banger, adding glitterball shimmers to her stark and macabre sound as\u00a0Jojo Orme investigates \u201chow our minds begin to deceive us when we\u2019re left in the dark, conjuring up fears that only appear in moments of insecurity \u2013 but also leaning into that, and trying to party alongside it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to NME fresh from launching her new era and aesthetic with some intimate shows in Italy (where the first version of the new single was born) Orme explained how the song sprung from an incident involving a power-cut while on the toilet during a writing session, a fear of the dark and a stream of consciousness lyrical flow. Returning to London, Orme took the track to producer Dan Carey,<\/a> who saw the potential in the song and stripped it back to the bare essentials.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOver time, a lot of my lyrics do change meaning when I start to realise that maybe it was subconscious telling me something,\u201d shared Orme. \u201cI was struggling to come up with an idea for that song. I couldn\u2019t think of anything, I was feeling very vulnerable and shy, I didn\u2019t like recording vocals in front of people, and being stuck in the dark is about just not being confident in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, Orme found herself grappling with the idea of \u201ctrying to figure out how to be great, but not be great for others, rather great for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThere\u2019s a problem where the more you look within, the more of a mess it is, so when you are trying to come up with something you have to just not look anywhere and the darkness just helps you to straight-up say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out the rest of our interview with Orme below, where she told us about what to expect from album number two, changes brought on by heartache, and her excitement to be hitting the road with Interpol<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Heartworms,Heartworms, 2026. Credit: Oliver Day<\/p>\n

NME: Hello Heartworms. How telling is \u2018Guess I\u2019m Stuck In The Dark\u2019 of the new album?<\/p>\n

Heartworms: \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a misleading track, and I think every track might be misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is the album done?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019ve finished recording it. I think it\u2019s nearly there. I\u2019m just coming up with all the cool visuals and whatnot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Where does it take things from \u2018Glutton For Punishment\u2019?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never really reaching for anything.\u00a0I never plan, because planning does limit you to new ideas. You think you need to be careful and consistent. For me, I just do whatever I want to do. If I want to write a dance track, if I want to write a hip-hop track, I\u2019ll just do it because I want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyrically, what\u2019s been inspiring you?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lyrics are what I believe tie the album together, all in the same world of uncertainty and dark humour. I\u2019d be lying if I said I knew the character for the new album because there isn\u2019t really any specific one, there are many. I\u2019d like to say I moved through it like water, taking the shape of each world in whatever way I felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

What changes have you seen in yourself since the last record?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a really good question. As I\u2019m getting older, there are a lot of things I believed in last year and don\u2019t believe in now. I\u2019m still battling with my religion and understanding the ideals, other ideas and the meaning of things. I got married last year and we\u2019re not together any more. All these things that have happened has completely changed who I am. How I live and breathe is writing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just moving forward, grabbing whatever inspires me, hoping it makes it into something. I\u2019m not trying to be anything \u2013 I\u2019m just trying to cope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it too simplistic to say that your new stuff is grappling with that disenchantment and what you\u2019ve learned from it, or more a matter of moving through it and documenting it?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be both. For some of the songs, I changed the lyrics just before recording them. \u2018Oh, that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to say. I was feeling trapped, and that\u2019s why I wrote those lyrics\u2019. I was saying something I didn\u2019t understand, then as I moved and shifted, it all fell into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Heartworms,Heartworms, 2026. Credit: Oliver Day<\/p>\n

How was it been launching your new era in Italy?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying new songs. I guess I was quite scared, because I wanted to change the look to something that I\u2019ve always wanted to wear and naturally gravitate towards by wearing a woollen suit. I like wearing woollen suits on stage and sweating a lot. I feel like I perform better when I\u2019m really uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, just not playing my Firebird [guitar] and getting back pains. I\u2019ve been playing a [Fender] Telecaster, which is a guitar I\u2019ve always been afraid to play on stage because of the shape. I love the sound. The sound is incredible as is recording with it. It\u2019s a brilliant guitar, but I just never thought the shape looked good. I\u2019ve been waiting to find the perfect look to compliment the guitar. I think I\u2019ve managed to find it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to have to wear all black again and I was scared to change, but I did it and I never want to go back. When it comes to aesthetic, I mainly think about what I\u2019m trying to say, the sound, I just wait for it to make sense. I become something through the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also about to join Bloc Party and Interpol on their co-headline tour<\/a>. You\u2019ve said before you\u2019re somewhat religious in your love of Interpol?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I really do love them. In a lot of things I write, they shimmer through a few parts. That\u2019s what I like to hear, so when I\u2019m writing it\u2019s a little bit of instrumentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thinking about that first show, just feeling like I\u2019m supporting them. I wonder how I\u2019m going to be, if I\u2019m going to be completely cool and not thinking about if they\u2019re watching or not. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m thinking about all these things. It\u2019s pretty good all these things are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also supported St Vincent<\/a> and Sleaford Mods<\/a> in some pretty big rooms. Do opportunities like this give you a hunger for larger stages?<\/p>\n

\u201cI never think of big venues. It\u2019s a hard job, it\u2019s really taxing, but there are moments when you can make the most of it and that\u2019s just taking every moment in as much as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

With JoJo of Heartworms pic.twitter.com\/ybnJwjSv7K<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

You also met gaming icon Hideo Kojima [Metal Gear], who you can count as a fan. What was that like?<\/p>\n

\u201cHideo and I are good friends, he\u2019s really funny and loves Joy Division<\/a>. Just a great guy \u2013 which reminds me I need to buy a PlayStation!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Guess I\u2019m Stuck In The Dark\u2019 is out now. Heartworms will be headlining a London date at The Windmill in Brixton on Wednesday October 28, before heading to Dark Arts Festival in Leeds on Saturday October 31 and Iceland Airwaves on Reykjavik on Sunday November 7 before her dates supporting Interpol and Bloc Party kick off in Berlin on Thursday November 11 as they roll through Europe and the UK. Visit here for tickets<\/a> and more information.<\/p>\n