Larry's 100

Music

Cut Worms, Transmitter (Jagjaguwar, 2026)

The Cut Worms have transformed from the solo vision of songwriter Max Clarke to a collective of collaborators, with Jeff Tweedy jumping on board as a producer and player.

Striking a more melancholic tone than 2023’s self-titled release, Transmitter brings Kinksian songcraft to jangly mid-tempo guitar pop. The melodies provide ample aural canvases to Clarke’s witty wordplay, highlighted on tracks like Evil Twin, Long Weekend, and Shut In. He captures a 21st-century loneliness we all feel.

Tweedy features the band’s sound well, but you can hear his knob twisting, bringing noisy flourishes that punctuate the album’s complicated introspection.

Buy it.

Cut Worms

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See all #Larrys2025Faves

Music

Music presents a dilemma, both timeless and immediate. I listen to a lot of albums spanning almost 100 years, multiple media, and in varied social settings. But it also has an immediacy: new releases, critical buzz, and the excitement of NOW! A year-end best-of tells a partial listening story, but alas:

2025 Superlatives

Best Album: Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – New Threats from the Soul  Best Single & Video: Elderberry Wine by Wednesday Best Debut: Annie DiRusso – Super Pedestrian  Best Comeback: The Lemonheads – Lovechant Best Concert: Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band/Snocaps – Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan

Fourteen 2025 releases on heavy rotation, in no particular order:

  • Snocaps - 'Snocaps' (Anti-): Twins Sisters Powers Reactivate

  • Jeff Tweedy - 'Twilight Override' (dBpm Records): A box set of new material? Jeff writes a lot of songs

  • Wednesday - 'Bleeds' (Dead Oceans): I slept on this band before Bleeds, awake now

  • Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – 'New Threats from the Soul' (Sophomore Lounge): Can't stop listening  The Larry’s100 review

  • Kurt Vile/Luke Roberts - 'Classic Love EP' (Verve): Played almost as much as Ryan Davis The Larry’s100 review

  • Lemonheads - 'Love Chant' (Fire Records): Cell Phone Blues was almost my song of the year  The Larry’s100 review

  • Kathleen Edwards - 'Billionaire' (Dualtone Records): A full-throated and tuneful platter of rugged individualism

  • The Bug Club – 'Very Human Features' (Sub Pop): Second great album in 3 years

  • Rose City Band - 'Sol y Sombra' (Thrill Jockey): Meditations with steel pedal

  • Annie DiRusso - 'Super Pedestrian' (Summer Soup Songs): Punchy, energetic first record. Her Tiny Desk is a must-watch

  • Dean Wareham - 'That's the Price of Loving Me' (Carpark Records): Crazy, this is his first solo album

  • Superchunk - 'Songs in the Key of Yikes' (Merge): On one of the best post-hiatus runs in indie rock history

  • Neil Young - 'Ocean Side/Country Side' (Neil Young Archives): Never before released, even though you know all the songs. Great to hear them, as it was originally conceived and tracked

  • Kacey Musgraves - 'Deeper Into The Well' (MCA Nashville): Seven new tracks!

#music #albums #2025BestOf #MusicReviews #BestOfMusic #Larrys2025FavesMusic #NewMusic #NowPlaying #100WordReview #Larrys100 #100DaysToOffload #Larrys2025Faves

All reviews on Larry's 100 are exactly 100 words. Read why →