There’s certainly no shortage of apocalyptic imaginings these days, and Heartworms like Ellie in the recent The Last of Us tv show stands defiant, ready to fight whatever is coming.

Heartworms (aka Jojo Orme) has been on the tip of every tongue in or around the London music scene for a while now — her military uniformed figure stomping out beats and screaming into the abyss quickly earning her a cult status in the music press. South London-based indie label Speedy Wunderground quickly snapped her up, and her taught four-song debut EP, A Comforting Notion, is produced by the label’s head honcho and tastemaker extraordinaire, Dan Carey, who has been behind the boards for the likes of Slowthai, Fontaines D.C and Wet Leg — all adding to this being one of the most hotly awaited debuts in recent years.

The industrial pulse and stabbing guitars of the opener, ‘Consistent Dedication,’ is punctuated by her breathless vocal that revels in the incantation, “Ugly is the man – he’ll chew his eyes,” whipping herself into a frenzy until the song’s angry conclusion.

‘Retributions Of An Awful Life’ finds Orme examining themes of escape from the drudgery of daily existence, signing, “look at me, I can fly, that’s the way it’s happening” over music that sounds like it’s the love child of Trent Reznor and Kraftwerk. The reasons for the need to fly away are revealed in the industrial-tinged Tubular Bell’s bridge, when she sings, “when you are young, decisions aren’t that fun.”  Things take a gothic turn in the smouldering ‘A Comforting Notion,’ Orme taking on the role of a hellish carnival barker, pleading to anyone who’ll listen to “remove the chains.” The EP rounds off with the surprisingly pop-like and catchy ‘24 Hours,’ lamenting the loss of childlike wonder in the opening monologue before the knife-like guitars of the first track make a reappearance and the sickness of adulthood becomes Orme’s sparring partner.

There’s certainly no shortage of apocalyptic imaginings these days, and Heartworms like Ellie in the recent The Last of Us tv show stands defiant, ready to fight whatever is coming. On A Comforting Notion, she picks up the British post-punk baton and quickly sets it on fire — a lone flame in the dark.