Cut Worms Joined by Liam Kazar on the Transmitter Tour

Mary Beth Bryan
Apr 26
2 min read

Cut Worms stopped by Atlanta at the perfect time on their Transmitter tour. It was a sleepy Monday night, 4/20 no less, and the heat is beginning to descend on Georgia this time of year. There isn’t a more perfect companion for this type of setting than the music of Cut Worms. Call it easy listening, classic-influenced indie-rock or whatever genre description you think fits it best, but I think it’s helpful to frame it by saying these songs give me the sudden urge to cannonball into a lake on a hot afternoon, then maybe float around on an inflatable tube for a while. Other people must’ve felt the same way, pouring into the walls of The EARL (in surprisingly strong numbers for a weeknight) to sit back and relax for a few hours.

Chicago-born musician Liam Kazar opened the show backed by Spencer Tweedy (yes relation) on drums and Nick Jost on bass. If you aren’t tapped into Kazar’s newest record, 2025’s Pilot Light, do check that out. It’s a vulnerable listen, but not a tough one. He bundles his singer-songwriter tendencies up in gorgeous little packages with jazz/twang/rock wrapping. Kazar talked a bit about his love for The EARL (a favorite venue of ours here at Kapoorhouse, as well), calling it “The Bottle of the South” in comparison to Empty Bottle in Chicago. The vibes do align, indeed, and Kazar filled out the warm space with his fittingly warm sound, vocals impressively matching one-to-one with his studio recordings. He did his work to pull everyone out of their Monday evening stupors and perk us up a bit before Cut Worms’ set.

Cut Worms’ five touring members, led by singer Max Clarke, shuffled up to the stage next. Clarke has something of an intriguingly reserved stage persona, not speaking too much, even coyly replying “I don’t know” when someone from the crowd asked for his name after he left himself out of the band introductions. It works for him, though. He’s got a great band backing him up, and the vintage aesthetic of the music pleasantly bleeds into their looks, too. Together they started in on songs from the Jeff Tweedy-produced Transmitter, plus their fair share of oldies from their 2023 self-titled record and 2020’s Nobody Lives Here Anymore. It was particularly fun to watch Clarke recreate the chopped-up vocals in the chorus of “Don’t Look Down” in person. Near the end, Clarke broke the illusion of shyness with a short solo portion that included new songs “Dream” and “Walk in an Absent Mind” (a personal favorite of mine on Transmitter). The band finished off with an encore that included an unreleased song, promising to meet up with everyone at the merch table afterward.