One thing that comes with maturity for many artists is becoming comfortable with what works and what doesn’t. Early on, it’s hard not to fret over what you’re doing and how you’re doing it; with a decent amount of experience under your belt, you can better understand your process and how to let the ideas flow as they will. 2026’s “Transmitter” is the fourth album in eight years from Cut Worms, the project of singer and songwriter Max Clarke, and in many ways it feels like the simplest and least fussed-over LP he’s released to date. It’s also one of his very best. Rather than obsessively overdubbing himself into a harmony group or trying to construct some deep-focus concept piece, Clarke has written ten great pop songs and let them play out in the studio with a small, solid band providing the guitar jangle and keeping the melodies in line.
The craft of “Transmitter” is excellent, and it feels alive and propelled by the natural energy of a band connecting in the moment, with some microphones thankfully on hand to document it all. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco produced “Transmitter” at his studio in Chicago, the Loft, and while the results don’t sound like Wilco, it does share the warmth and immediacy of albums like “Cruel Country” and “Twilight Override”; these recordings hit a near-perfect balance between precision and casual enthusiasm, and here Clarke manages to give us the best of both sides.
(The electronic wobble on “Walk in an Absent Mind” is a rare moment of obvious technical manipulation here, and in context it works beautifully.) As for the songs, Clarke is just as introspective as we’ve come to expect, but he’s learned to express himself with clarity and focus, and his vocals are articulate without excess theatricality — though this material doesn’t always sound joyous, especially in these thumbnail sketches of characters struggling with life’s challenges, Clarke’s performances are the work of a man who is learning to make sense of a chaotic world and find peace in it, and it all seems nearly optimistic without kidding himself or the listeners. Sometimes all you need to make a great album is a batch of fine songs, a handful of sympathetic musicians, and a bit of kismet. “Transmitter” has all those things, and it’s a quietly excellent album that favours Max Clarke’s talents in all the best ways.
The Fat Angel Sings 