Max Clarke has announced his self-titled third album as Cut Worms which will be out July 21 via Jagjaguwar. The album is his first in three years and features Brian & Michael DʼAddorio of The Lemon Twigs and Rick Spataro of Florist, alongside longtime bandmates John Andrews (keyboards), Keven Louis Lareau (bass), and Noah Bond (drums). Clarke aimed this time to pare his songs down to only what he thought was essential, asking “How much can I say and give in a limited amount of time?”
The first single is “Ballad of the Texas King,” which finds his melodic gifts still in fine form. Clarke says it’s “sort of ʻthe bridgeʼ between my last record and the new one. Itʼs a murder ballad, and as is common in murder ballads, deals with promise and innocence being snuffed out.” It comes with a striking video directed by Clay Tatum. “[Tatum] and Whitmer Thomas used one of my songs in their recent film The Civil Dead which I very much enjoyed and so I sought them out to do my video. Iʼm real pleased with how it came out and I think it puts the song in another dimension.” Watch that below.
Cut Worms will do a three-show residency at Brooklyn’s Union Pool on July 7, 14 and 21, and will then go on a North American tour starting September 5 at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. All dates are listed below.
Cut Worms:
1. Donʼt Fade Out
2. Take it and Smile
3. Ballad of the Texas King
4. Iʼll Never Make It
5. Is it Magic?
6. Letʼs Go Out On The Town
7. Living Inside
8. Use Your Love! (Right Now)
9. Too Bad
Cut Worms – 2023 Tour Dates
Fri. July 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Fri. July 14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Fri. July 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Tue. Sept. 5 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Wonder Bar
Wed. Sept. 6 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Music House
Fri. Sept. 8 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
Sat. Sept. 9 – Nashville, TN @ Blue Room at Third Man Records
Mon. Sept. 11 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
Tue. Sept. 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Wed. Sept. 13 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Fri. Sept. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Dada
Sat. Sept. 16 – Austin, TX @ The Ballroom
Mon. Sept. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Tue. Sept. 19 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Thu. Sept. 21 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Wayfarer
Fri. Sept. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Mon. Sept. 25 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Louʼs at The Crocodile
Tue. Sept. 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Wed. Sept. 27 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Fri. Sept. 29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Sat. Sept. 30 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
Mon. Oct. 2 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
Tue. Oct. 3 – Saint Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Wed. Oct. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
Fri. Oct. 6 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Sun. Oct. 8 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Bling Pig
Mon. Oct. 9 – Toronto, On @ Horseshoe Tavern