Review
Max Clarke swaps his usual vintage reverb for a dry, live-in-the-room fidelity on Transmitter, his fourth outing as Cut Worms. Produced alongside Jeff Tweedy at Wilco’s Loft studio, the album strips away the project's ornate, Brill Building lacquer in favor of a cleaner, guitar-driven pop that leaves Clarke’s weary observations exposed. Many critics welcome this starker frame, with Northern Transmissions noting that the dry mix is "better suited to the modern dread seeping into the margins of these songs."
By trading country-tinged swing for nineties-slacker directness, Clarke lets the melodies carry the emotional weight. Uncut champions the record, noting that Clarke reaches a "rarefied level of expressiveness and self-assurance" alongside Tweedy, while Mojo praises its "quiet beauty." This subtraction of studio sheen allows the songs to breathe, resulting in what No Ripcord terms "a refresh rather than a revolution." Ultimately, it presents a comforting songwriter stepping out of his comfort zone, carrying his classic pop sensibilities into a darker, more uncertain reality.
