Cut Worms, the project of Max Clarke, announces his fourth full-length record, Transmitter, due for release on March 13, 2026 via Jagjaguwar. Produced by Jeff Tweedy at Wilco’s Loft studio, Transmitter marks a deepening of Clarke’s abilities and the convergence of two artists whose work searches for grace amid dislocation. Together, they conjure the ecstatic spirits of power pop and alt rock, expanding Cut Worms’ vintage palette while reaffirming his gift for timeless songwriting. These are songs shaped by the myth of self-reliance, where people sold the idea of connection through technology have been reduced to quiet transmitters—data points bought and sold, manipulated and measured, their lives distorted through the very networks meant to unite them.
Clarke says of the album, “The stories in these songs are equal parts innocence and experience—dealing with the ecstatic moments of being freshly enamored with the world as well as the isolation and seclusion that can come after. On view are the unseen inner sanctums of quiet daily life—the private worlds that people inhabit, where they don’t or can’t let anyone else in. It is not a uniquely American phenomenon, but it does seem prevalent here, rooted in the mythos of rugged individualism and the idea that each person must be strong enough to make it on their own or die.”
Today also sees the release of the finely-crafted ‘Windows on the World,’ featuring Tweedy on electric guitars and bass and Glenn Kotche on percussion. The song wrestles with American disillusionment, its melancholy drifting somewhere between Elliott Smith and Miracle Legion, and arrives alongside a video shot on the streets of New York and directed by Caroline Gohlke.
The first signs of Transmitter came when Cut Worms were on the road supporting Wilco in the summer of 2024. At the end of the tour, Tweedy invited the band to record at the storied Loft in Chicago, and plans were soon made to commence that fall. The opportunity was a homecoming of sorts for Clarke—the Windy City is where he attended art school, played in formative bands, and began recording his Cut Worms Soft Boiled Demos. Sharing the stage with Wilco was already a dream, but to return to Chicago with a new batch of songs and the chance to work alongside Tweedy felt like a circle closing and a new chapter beginning.
In the Loft’s warm clutter of guitars, amplifiers, and books, Clarke and Tweedy quickly found common musical ground and a shared instinct for songs that hold complexity. Unlike earlier records defined by Clarke’s own guitar style and knack for arrangements, Transmitter took shape as a dialogue. While his voice and writing formed the framework, Tweedy’s guitar and bass lines sketched the rooms the songs inhabit, raising walls around them without ever sealing them off. “Jeff instinctively understood who the narrator was and what the story was about in each instance, without me ever needing to say it outright,” says Clarke. Tweedy’s presence as a producer revealed itself not in heavy-handed choices but in how he coloured spaces and continually offered new textures. His veteran knowledge and exceptional playing gave Clarke the confidence to let the songs flow more freely. Between them, their like-minded sensibilities bridged a generational gap to create something more nuanced than either might have made alone.
Cut Worms
Transmitter
Transmitter Artwork
- Worlds Unknown
- Evil Twin
- Long Weekend
- Barfly
- Windows on the World
- Walk in an Absent Mind
- Don’t Look Down
- Shut In
- Out of Touch
- Dream
Transmitter is available to pre-order on Metallic Silver vinyl, Clear Red vinyl, Standard Black vinyl, CD and digitally. Pre-order here: https://cut-worms.lnk.to/transmitter
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