Midwestern-bred, NY-based Max Clarke, aka Cut Worms, was always drawn to the creative shadows as a kid, often creating warm sounds on the basement 4-track. His songs crackle with the heat of a love-struck nostalgia: golden threads of storytelling woven together with a palpable Everly Brothers’ influence and 50s and 60s naiveté. Cut Worms’ debut album, Hollow Ground, follows the release of his Alien Sunset EP, which garnered much attention last year.
A number of songs that make up his LP, Hollow Ground, bloomed from his time in Chicago during a period of driven creativity. Older songs, “Like Going Down Sideways” and “Don’t Want To Say Good-Bye,” find new life on Hollow Ground, polished from their initial appearances on Cut Worms’ introductory EP. Both still fizzle with a lo-fi 60s sound, but have been decidedly cleaned up. Clarke's songwriting both evokes and explores the raw realm of youth, but channels it through the lens of someone more restrained, who’s been through it all before. Clarke, who plays keyboards, bass, and lap steel in addition to his main guitar, handled most of the instrumentation across the set. He is always striving toward a specific musical aesthetic, and Hollow Ground marks the closest he’s gotten to hitting it thus far.
Watch the video for "Don't Want to Say Good-bye" below, and look for Hollow Ground, out May 4th on Jagjaguwar