Houseshow’s Favorite New Music: Cut Worms’ “Don’t Want To Say Good-Bye”

A gorgeous new release from Chicago’s Randy Records

by Katie Ingegneri

The great Chicago DIY rock n roll record label Randy Records has some fresh releases just in time for summer 2016, and this is one I’m already playing on repeat. It’s a 7" single called “Don’t Want To Say Good-Bye” by Cut Worms, and it’s truly something else.

I’d heard of Cut Worms before this release, but never got the chance to listen. (I probably assumed they were a punk band.) This project of Max Clarke, formerly of Chicago punk rock kings The Sueves and now a resident of New York, is disarmingly beautiful and a lovely mellow pause from fast-paced rock n roll life. Side A, “Don’t Want To Say Good-Bye,” is a catchy track with early 60s Beatles/Everly Brothers-style harmonies and a chorus that stays repeating in your head long after it’s over. Randy Records excels at putting out the best releases for those of us who can’t get enough of 60s-style music and vintage sounds.

As lovely as the title track is, it’s the B-side that absolutely blows me away. “Like Going Down Sideways,” is an incredibly gorgeous song that would be perfectly at home in a Wes Anderson film. The Chicago music scene, where Max spent the past few years, has a ton of great rock bands echoing various retro styles, but when I first put this on, I wasn’t expecting to hear perfect retro-yet-timeless folk-pop with haunting, dreamlike Dylan and Cohen vibes, and the subtle yet powerful emotionality of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.

Disorienting yet comforting, with twinkling guitar, echoing vocals and soaring harmonies, “Like Going Down Sideways” evokes something your parents might have listened to, but doesn’t feel dated in the least and gives the feeling of stumbling upon some long-lost gem. It’s a truly special find and an instant classic in my music library. Run, don’t walk (or go online) to grab a copy and listen today.

I hope to see Max/Cut Worms perform soon and I am super intrigued to hear more of these songs. Do yourself a favor and pick it up from the Randy Records online store or your local hip record shop like Bric a Brac Records in Logan Square and get ready for a dreamy summer.

The DIY label Randy Records, run by Nathan Johnson of many local Chicago bands like The Yolks, puts out the releases of tons of great local Chicago bands on vinyl, and Bric a Brac will usually have most of them. In addition to the Cut Worms release, there’s a new EP from Chicago punks Heavy Times, plus seriously groovy releases from Uh Bones and The Memories which I wrote about last year, an early Max Kakacek project called Teenage Lovers (pre-Smith Westerns and pre-Whitney), the incredibly lovely retro rock n rollers Spike and the Sweet Spots, and holy shit, I just realized they put out the single of Dead Ghosts’ “I Sleep Alone” which is one of my favorite songs of the current garage rock generation. Good work, Randy Rex!

http://randyrecords.bigcartel.com/

https://randyrecords.bandcamp.com/

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