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Photo By Joyce Lee
This time last year, Chicagoan-turned-Brooklynite Max Clarke, known professionally as Cut Worms, was gearing-up for the release of his debut EP Alien Sunset, slowly garnering fans through Bandcamp before being picked-up by indie label Jagjaguwar, a feat validating Clarke’s decision to abandon a graphic design career and fully dedicate himself to the one thing in life that’s always felt effortless: songwriting. Alien Sunset may have been more appropriately released under the name “Ear” Worms, as the handful of catchy lo-fi tunes made Clarke an instant new-favorite and set him up for wider recognition with the release of his debut full-length Hollow Ground, out tomorrow. The new album peels off the lo-fi filter of the EP (it even includes a polished version of “Hard to Say Goodbye,”), Clarke bumps the folk-pop factor up a notch or two, but sweet melodies and Everly Bros-esque vocals still share centerstage in a sound that Clarke has made uniquely his own.
“Cash for Gold,” appears in Hollow Ground, out tomorrow via Jagjaguwar.
-Taylor Wallace// host, Thursdays 8-11P & Saturdays 2-6P; Producer, Eklektikos with John Aielli
