Cut Worms

The name Cut Worms, taken from a William Blake poem, belongs to indie singer/songwriter Max Clarke, whose work merges early rock, country, and Americana conventions with present-day D.I.Y. energy and expansive production. Raised in Ohio and now living in Brooklyn, Clarke produces a gentle, at times wistful tone shaped by 1960s artists ranging from the Everly Brothers to Brian Wilson, while his words convey both understated contentment and quiet acceptance. Cut Worms received strong reviews for the 2018 debut Hollow Ground, and Nobody Lives Here Anymore arrived in 2020 as a wide-ranging double album that reflected a society nearing breakdown. With 2023’s Cut Worms, Clarke sought a tighter focus and tested new recording locations along with fresh studio partners.

Strongsville, Ohio native Max Clarke began using the Cut Worms name while studying illustration at Chicago’s Columbia College. Although immersed in the city’s punk and noise circles, he turned his attention to melodic ’50s and ’60s pop modeled on Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers as well as the country style of that period. Encouraged by a highly productive musical roommate, he set out to write and capture two new songs each month on a digital eight-track, sharing the results online at no cost. In late 2015 Clarke moved to New York, building a reputation through live shows while his engaging lo-fi recordings circulated widely. Jagjaguwar Records eventually signed him and gathered six of his strongest Chicago-era demos for the October 2017 EP Alien Sunset.

Clarke next prepared a full-length album, enlisting producers Jonathan Rado of Foxygen in Los Angeles and Jason Finkel in N.Y.C. He performed most instruments on 2018’s Hollow Ground, assisted by Rado, drummer David Christian, and others. After earning widespread praise, he spent the following two years touring before turning to new material. Clarke traveled to Memphis to work at the historic Sam Phillips Recording Studio with producer Matt Ross-Spang. Those sessions yielded a more immediate sound and expanded into the ambitious double album Nobody Lives Here Anymore, released in 2020. By then the COVID-19 pandemic had halted touring plans, and when Cut Worms finally returned to the road in 2022 the longer songs and elaborate arrangements proved difficult to perform live. Clarke therefore chose a simpler approach for the next release, resulting in 2023’s Cut Worms, a nine-song collection running 35 minutes. He completed the tracks in three separate sessions: one using portable equipment at his rehearsal space, another in Brooklyn with Brian D’Addario on piano and Michael D’Addario on bass from the Lemon Twigs, and the last at Onlyness Analog, the Hudson Valley studio run by Rick Spataro of Florist.