Microwave have knocked the ball out of the park with their new album. The incredible 90's grunge and post-hardcore influences on their sound creates a dynamically impressive 10-track LP that will set them aside from other bands in the alternative/punk scene this year.
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Atlanta 4-Piece Microwave are due to release their new album Death Is A Warm Blanket on September 13th. The album will be the third LP put out by the American indie-punkers and their most recent since the successful Much Love, which was a wholesome and arguably career-changing album that garnered the band some much deserved attention and popularity. The album, much like their debut Stovall touches upon angst, detachment and the fallout from particular crises that you may endure as an aging adult but took a diversion from their debut album by incorporating more ‘Southern American’ guitar sounds and shoegazey melodic hooks throughout.
Three years since their last album, Microwave are releasing Death Is A Warm Blanket. The album takes a sharp-right turn in terms of sound. The band have broken out of their metaphorical pigeon hole they found themselves in as a result of their first two LPs and have rediscovered themselves as an incredibly diverse and talented group fusing genre with genre and sound with sound.
The first track on the album ‘Leather Daddy’ initially seems to follow the typical indie-shoegaze sound the band are known for. The first minute and a half of the track feels like it could belong on Much Love however, shortly after this mark the sound takes a sonic turn with gritty distortion and impeccable harsh vocal and screams from frontman Nathan Hardy. The second song ‘Float To The Top’ starts out sounding indistinguishable to a Nirvana B-side before exploding into a chorus that belongs on a WWE pay-per-view event. The huge shift in sound for the chorus creates an aggressive atmosphere needed when trying to be pumped up. ‘DIAWB’ is the title-track on the album and continues with a 90’s grunge feel with a twinge of that 2010’s post-hardcore vibe also. Anthemic choruses and riffs lead to another mosh-inspiring track that I know will only sound harder live.
‘The Brakeman Has Resigned’ is the fourth track on the 10-song LP and takes a significant step away from the sounds expected from the band. Harsh hardcore vocal screams set the initial tone for the song before it transverses into a much more American-punk sound whilst still packing a vicious punch.
Songs such as ‘Pull’ and ‘Mirrors’ provide substance to suggest that sonically the band have changed their sound to a much grittier, and harsher feel whilst maintaining the themes and nihilism that Microwave are recognised for.
The 10-track Death Is A Warm Blanket is a complete spin-kick to the face from Microwave. The step-up in sound sees the band remain faithful to the style, lyrics and themes present in previous releases whilst outlining a new era for the band which sees grittier and heavier influences to their sound. 90’s grunge and modern post-hardcore are fused to Microwave’s natural style creating an apocalyptic and downright aggressive third album. This will be one of the biggest and heaviest releases in the punk/alternative scene of 2019.
Microwave are imminently embarking on a UK/Europe tour supporting Tiny Moving Parts starting on September 21st in Southampton. Tickets are still available here.
Microwave’s Death Is A Warm Blanket will be out September 13 via Pure Noise Records. You can listen to Microwave’s single ‘Mirrors’ here:
