Album Review: Microwave – ‘Much Love’

Posted: by Hannah

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Being a “young adult” is an oxymoron in itself without throwing in the necessary pleasure and inevitable pain that make everything even more confusing. On Much Love, Microwave presents this hectic part of life without ever really trying to make sense of it all, and they don’t have to because their candid exploration will make sense to anyone who has lived it. This is an album that is well written from start to finish. Each track contains multiple sections and usually varying vocal deliveries. Nearly every track is notable, but there are a few in particular that stand out and really shine.

The band seems to pick up right where they left off with the first track “Roaches”; a possible ode to “but not often,” off their split with Head North. The track ends with the line “The roaches in my bathtub sigh and roll their eyes with your groaning / I’ve been wasting all my time.

“Vomit” is best experienced paired with the compelling visual of the music video directed by Kyle Thrash (the best organized chaos since Taking Back Sunday’s video for “MakeDamnSure”), only having the audio leaves the drums to carry the weight of the song, a burden that grows heavier but is never abandoned by Timothy (Tito) Pittard who knows exactly when he needs to use cymbals or hard hits to transcend sound and have the listener feel the music.

“Whimper” breaks from the albums otherwise upbeat disposition to showcase moody, intricate guitar work reminiscent of Brand News’ TDAG. The 4 minutes and 30 seconds gives you plenty of time to appreciate the best of Microwave: poetic lyrics, unpredictable song structure, Nathan Hardy’s vocal inflections, soft/loud arrangements, feedback that feels more necessary than noisy. “I’m not yours & that’s not right / I’m just a novelty you’re toying with to complicate your life / We’re not even friends, just a means to an end” is an instant standout lyric in the eye of this hurricane song, the kind you want to be singing along to in a crowded little venue.

One careful listen to any track is proof that this band is methodical yet unhindered, the result plays out like a rehearsed jam session. It’s this quality I admire most about Microwave because they have absolute integrity without sacrificing excellence. Much Love isn’t an album that you should put on shuffle, the effortless transitions between tracks make it easy to forget how smart it is as a collective piece of work. It’s an album not stuck in time, not stuck in genres, and maybe most importantly not stuck in a closed mind.

9/10