Nobody Lives Here Anymore in Bloomington, MN

On 2018's
Hollow Ground
, singer and songwriter
Max Clarke
-- who essentially is
Cut Worms
-- managed to sound sunny and mildly cynical at the same time as he charmed his way through a fine set of folk-pop tunes. The songs were produced in a variety of retro styles, with
Clarke
often doubling his vocals into tasty
Everly Brothers
-style harmonies. Two years later, he's feeling a bit different about things. 2020's
Nobody Lives Here Anymore
trades the elaborate production of
for a simpler, more organic approach, focused on
's vocals and acoustic guitar with a small rhythm section, pedal steel, and occasional vocal choruses lending the music a feel that's somewhere between folk and country, both circa 1963. And while the tiniest hint of a smirk was audible on
,
's vocals on
sound warmer and more heartfelt, though at the same time, his messages are more downbeat and disenchanted.
is a set of songs that largely focus on the decline and fall of the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of ordinary folks learning to live with reduced circumstances, both financial and emotional.
has no interest in writing protest songs or calling his listeners to action; instead, there are sweetly sad observations on a world in doldrums, and the tone is compassionate if plainspoken. The down-to-earth mood of the songs suits the simpler, more organic tone of the arrangements, but its humility is in direct contrast to its length, with seventeen songs passing by in 77 minutes. The comfortable mid-tempo trot of the music is pleasing in moderate doses, but there just isn't enough diversity to make this run like it should for quite this long. Part of the dilemma is that the songs here are consistently good; the trouble isn't padding but too big a serving. Clipped down to 40 minutes,
would have the potential to be a great album; at 77 minutes, it's quality music that somehow wears out its welcome. ~ Mark Deming