It\u2019s inevitable that your favorite bands will eventually release an album that challenges you in some way. Georgia<\/a> band Microwave\u2019s<\/a> newest release, Death is a Warm Blanket<\/i>, is certainly one of those albums for me.<\/p>\n

Their 2016 LP, Much Love<\/i>, a heartrending thirty minutes of beautifully written and arranged tracks lamenting the complexities of love, metal health, and crises of faith, made quick work of cementing its place on my all time favorites list. This is partially due to the machinations of main vocalist Nathan Hardy, whose incredible voice finds the perfect balance between raw and tender with deceptive ease. One of Much Love’s <\/i>trademarks is songs that switch gears halfway through, with ambling, lullaby-like melodies that devolve into vocal stylings one would expect to hear on a full-blown emo album.<\/p>\n

On Death is a Warm Blanket<\/i>, Hardy and his bandmates Tyler Hill (bass), Timothy Pittard (drums), and Wesley Swanson (guitar) have certainly not abandoned their love for frequent tonal shifts, but instead have decided to lean more heavily into their propensity for discordant sounds, throat-shredding vocals, and couch-tipping despair.<\/p>\n