Produced by Jeff Tweedy at Wilco's Loft studio, Transmitter marks a deepening of Max Clarke's abilities and the convergence of two artists whose work searches for grace amid dislocation. These are places shaped by the myth of self-reliance, where people sold the idea of connection through technology have been reduced to quiet transmitters—data points bought and sold, manipulated and measured, their lives distorted through the very networks meant to unite them.

The collaboration began in the summer of 2024 while Cut Worms were supporting Wilco on the road. In the Loft's warm clutter of guitars and amplifiers, Clarke and Tweedy quickly found common musical ground. Tweedy’s presence as a producer reveals itself in how he colors spaces and offers new textures, bridging a generational gap to create something more nuanced than either might have made alone. While previous Cut Worms releases were steeped in Brill Building decadence and madcap Americana, the sound on Transmitter feels darker, richer, and more saturated with the anxiety of contemporary living.

From the melodic urgency of "Long Weekend" — recalling Big Star or Dwight Twilley — to the jangling heartache of "Evil Twin," the album finds Clarke writing with the conviction of someone who has made peace with uncertainty. The closing track "Dream" brings the journey back to a familiar plane: Clarke alone at the piano, tender and unresolved, pondering the fate of dreams and the risk of getting lost en route. Transmitter is a reckoning with the cost of comfort, returning to the idea that beauty, connection, and love are not luxuries but necessities for survival.