Cut Worms, aka Max Clarke, brought his timeless sound alongside his recently released, self titled, third album to Atlanta’s Terminal West on Tuesday night.
Opening for Cut Worms this tour is none other than John Andrews & The Yawns, who released their fourth album, Love for the Underdog, in April via Woodsist. While John Andrews has been a key cog in other indie bands like Quilt and Woods, his solo work stands out on it’s own, especially live surrounded by his talented band: bassist Keven Louis Lareau, drummer Noah Bond, and Hamilton Belk with Andrews on the keyboard. With his last two albums leaning heavily into 70’s California Soft Rock sounds, the live set focused there more, except live, the band brought a real jazz element to the songs that really brought it together beautifully.
With their opening set wrapped up, John Andrews headed over to the merch table to meet fans while the stage got set for Cut Worms. Of course that really didn’t take very long. All they really had to do was setup a mic stand for Max Clarke in the middle of the stage. After all, besides Max Clarke, Cut Worms is John Andrews & The Yawns, just not officially, though those fellas have recorded some on the Cut Worms albums and they have played with him live for a number of years. Really just a perfect pairing for both the fans (two great bands on album cycles) and the tour itself.
Cut Worms, aka Max, of course, officially released his third album, titled Cut Worms, in July via Jagjaguwar, continuing his exploration of pop essentialism to the max. There is something so pure about Cut Worms music, a return to the pop classics of the late 50’s and early 60’s, but yet doesn’t feel out of place in 2023. Within his music you hear hints of everything from The Everly Brothers, to Woodie Guthrie, to Dylan, to John and Paul. And while Cut Worms has earned plenty of critical acclaim for the first two albums and the first EP, this album may be the most complete work top to bottom yet. It’s sort of that perfect album that’s hard to put down, you know.
Live, Cut Worms is flawless full of dreamy anthems. Max Clarke sounds just as good live as on record, and it’s obviously a tightknit band that really enjoys playing together with the skill and precision throughout the set. Just look to drummer Noah Bond if you want to see if the band is having fun on stage, he kills it on the intense looks while exuding joy on stage while the band powered through songs old and new. New songs like “Don’t Fade Out”, “Ballad of the Texas King”, and “Let’s Go Out On The Town” were live highlights off the new album. Other set highlights included old songs like “Don’t Want to Say Good-Bye” and “Every Once In A While”, but honestly it was a top to bottom set of perfect sounds that’s hard not to love. Don’t miss Cut Worms live on tour now with one of the best albums of 2023.
Check out photos below from Cut Worms performing live at Terminal West in Atlanta, GA on Tuesday, September 12th, 2023, all photos by Mike Gerry:
JOHN ANDREWS & THE YAWNS
CUT WORMS
CUT WORMS ONLINE:
WEBSITE // BANDCAMP // FACEBOOK // INSTAGRAM // TWITTER
UPCOMING CUT WORMS TOUR DATES:
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
Sat. Sept. 23 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Mon. Sept. 25 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s 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
Wed. Oct. 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
