Microwave

About Microwave

Microwave came together in Atlanta in 2012, though you'd be forgiven for thinking they sound like they crawled out of the early 2000s emo scene. Nathan Hardy on vocals and guitar, Tyler Hill on drums, and Travis Hill on bass built their sound on that specific tension between melodic hooks and genuine emotional rawness that bands spend years trying to fake.

They started the way most bands do now, releasing material online and grinding through DIY tours. Their early stuff showed promise but hadn't quite locked into what would become their signature sound. That changed with "Stovall," their 2014 debut album. It was scrappy and urgent, the kind of record that sounds like it was made by people who needed to make it rather than wanted to. Songs like "Trash Stains" and "Vomit" became instant favorites in certain corners of the internet, the kind of tracks that get passed around with "you need to hear this" attached.

The real shift came with "Much Love" in 2016. This is where Microwave figured out how to balance aggression with actual songwriting craft. The production was cleaner but not polished to death, and Hardy's lyrics hit that sweet spot between specific and relatable. "Lighterless" became something of an anthem, and "Roaches" showed they could write a genuinely affecting slow song without getting sappy about it. The album caught the attention of SideOneDummy Records, which is how you know something's working.

"Death Is a Warm Blanket" followed in 2019, and it's probably their most fully realized work. The title alone tells you where their heads were at. The songs are tighter, the dynamics more controlled, but they didn't lose the raw nerve that made people care in the first place. "Circling the Drain" and "Disinvite" are peak Microwave, managing to sound both exhausted and defiant at the same time. The record deals with mental health stuff without being preachy about it, which is harder than it sounds.

They've been quieter lately, which seems intentional rather than a sign of anything falling apart. A few singles here and there, some touring when the world allowed it. The band added Wesley Swanson on second guitar somewhere along the way, filling out their live sound without fundamentally changing what they do.

Microwave exists in that space where emo, punk, and indie rock blur together enough that genre tags stop meaning much. They're not reinventing anything, but they're doing a specific thing really well. Their fans tend to be the kind of people who still care about albums as full statements rather than just playlist fodder. They're not huge, probably never will be, but they've carved out something genuine in a scene that often rewards the opposite.

Known for Senators, Stressful, Dog Leather, Death Wish, The Most Beautiful Thing

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