Microwave is the Lacroix of punk music. We are all on the page, right? Microwave was an artist that I was surprisingly very late to get to know, and I kicked myself for it because their music truly takes you into their world. I am excited to break down their most recent release and see what essence they are giving us in this era of music. 

I have to be honest: I have listened to this album probably a good 5 or 6 times, and even with that amount of repetition- I am having trouble articulating exactly what I am hearing. This could be because of the soundscapes the band creates. Often in these moments, we are getting repetitive rhythms in an atmospheric format, where the vocals stay within a fixed range that is comforting to the ear. The orchestration of these selections aren’t overly complex- to put simply, they are creating background music that is very soothing. I find it easy to just put this record on and zone out into it. 

There are a few songs that break this mold: “Circling the Drain,” “Bored of Being Sad,” and the title track- “Let’s get Degeneracy.” These tracks pop out to the listener as they resonate with a higher intensity of the punk meets R&B vibe microwave establishes throughout the make. It is interesting to note that these songs fall in the middle of the record, as to keep the interest of the listener. Grouped in the middle section are songs such as “Straw Hat” and “Omni,” which act as a middle ground for the vibe and the hype tracks. 

One thing that I love about Microwave is that they can have these intense lyrics written throughout their songs like “I’m gonna break you like a glowstick,” but when they sing it with such a calm and smooth voice, we can’t help but vibe with it. Upon writing this review, I am giving this album a 3.75 out of 5 stars. There are a lot of intricate elements to this record; however, I worry that the retention of this album is lacking as it is difficult to recall a lot of the material on the make aside from the tracks that stick out. 

*”Let’s Start Degeneracy” was released on April 26th, 2024 through Pure Noise Records.