REVIEW: MICROWAVE - LET'S START DEGENERACY

American rock band Microwave are back with their much-anticipated album ‘Let's Start Degeneracy’. You can instantly sense the change of direction the band have taken here, feeling like they're telling a story through the whole album.

'Portals' opens the album, and with multiple references to Jesus it gives a strong Christian feel - it almost feels like you are being woken up. As the track sounds out, it begins to feel a lot more trippy, which serves as the perfect introduction to what the band have based their fourth album on; an ayahuasca trip that vocalist and guitarist Nathan Hardy and drummer Timothy Pittard had in Peru. Second track 'Ferrari' has been available for just over a month, offering a more soulful, chilled out sound, with lyrics all about not letting your fear get in the way of living your life. Both are short, calm tracks, giving a slow introduction into the bulk of the album; reinforcing the quote from Hardy - “It’s about letting go of attachments and behaviours that aren’t serving you and trying to shake off your programming and not be motivated by fear and guilt and shame.”

The third track ‘Circling The Drain’, which was the first-released track back in 2022, is when the album starts to pick up into a more pop rock vibe. The track feels self-referential - by going between a soft acoustic intro, grungy middle and then back to the acoustic sound of the intro it can make the listener feel as if they really are circling the drain. This song feels like it has strong connections to mental health, and perhaps a connection to life during the Covid pandemic, with lyrics like “I'm here justifying the future”, “Not redeeming the dead” and “My father says, 'You've gotta go on, get along'".

Track four ‘Bored of Being Sad”, the most recently released tune, it has a more uplifting feeling and references towards turning around your own fate by changing your attitude to the way you feel; “If you romanticise misery, brother you’re gonna be miserable”. It gives a personal feel but also feels like a good placement in the album for self-reflection, before track five “Straw Hat”, another 2022 release. Another chilled, laid-back vibe giving a summery feel, it starts off feeling like a love letter but moves into feelings of resentment towards the receiver, with lyrics such as “I know that you're spying on me now” and “If you treat people like that, I know that's how you treat yourself”.

More than halfway into the album you are hit with the bassy title track “LSD”, and the

psychedelic, trippy vibes are well and truly back. It’s hard hitting, with reoccurring lyrics “caught up in shit you don’t believe, trying to shovel a way out” related back to Hardy’s references to his experiences with leaving the Mormon religion, and reflecting on that decision with the writing and creation of this album.

Track number seven is ‘Omni’. Right off the bat it has more of an indie, upbeat feel to it, adding to the mix of genres that Microwave have experimented with and fused together. Towards the end of the song there are further mentions and question of religion such as “what’s it like to be a martyr?”, “is it God you blame?” and “are you looking for your new God?”. The band have described this album to feel more like an auto-biography and these questions help us see further into Hardy’s brain; the feeling of doubt, realisation and clarification at the end of his time being part of a Church.

‘Strangers’ opens with a haunting sound, and is followed by a subtle riff around 20 seconds in. The vocals on this track carry more of a sense of resignation, which ties in perfectly with the repeated lyric “I’m ready to leave”. The tempo begins to quicken roughly at the half way mark, suggesting a sense of hope. The song begins to represent the essence of a growth journey and reflects the feeling of letting go of the past, as the album has been described by the band themselves.

The penultimate track ‘Concertito’ is another short one. It starts with the familiar sound of a running shower, and is shortly followed by a whimsical piano tune, the vocals sound very carefree, just like someone has been captured in the midst of the joy of singing in the shower. While it is the shortest song on the album, it leaves the lasting impression that there is beauty in everyday moments. It perfectly captures Microwave’s ability to make something so simple have such a strong feeling and impression.

The final track, about a natural supplement, ‘Huperzine’ bears resemblance to Frank Ocean from whom they have taken inspiration from for this album. They close out the album with the same laid-back vibe that we were introduced with in the first track. The reference to lucid dreams gives the vibe that by the final track, on the flip side to the first track; they are going back to sleep. This track wraps up the sense of acceptance and moving forward that the whole album has given us – “When you lose everything, thе whole world becomes your home”.

This album proves that Microwave have widened their musical boundaries, that they aren’t tied down to any one genre, that they are doing what they do for themselves. Their music is unusual, yet deep and meaningful with lyrics that will resonate with any and all listeners in their own unique way.

‘Let’s Start Degeneration’ is released on April 26th via Pure Noise Records.

Words: Lorna Hayes

Photo: Good As Gold PR