The songs of Brooklyn’s Max Clarke — who releases albums under the name Cut Worms, a reference to William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell — are more than the sum of their parts. Plenty of contemporary artists make country-tinged indie folk with thoughtful, introspective lyrics, but few have Cut Worms’ knack for intoxicating melodies and careful ear for balanced arrangements. Clarke found a kindred spirit in fellow folk songster Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, who produced Cut Worms’ latest, Transmitter, at Wilco’s Loft studio in Chicago. Tweedy’s influence is clear on Transmitter tunes like “Walk in an Absent Mind,” with its shades of Being There, and the upbeat “Long Weekend,” which is more spiritually indebted to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Transmitter, Cut Worms’ fourth long-player for stalwart indie label Jagjaguwar, never lulls across its 10 tracks, and is sparing with its flourishes. (Am I the only one who hears echoes of The The’s “This Is the Day” in the accordion outro of “Evil Twin”?) But it makes an impression, and will no doubt sound first-rate in The Basement East on April 21, when Cut Worms will appear with support from Liam Kazar.
8 p.m. at The Basement East
917 Woodland St.
