Microwave had a busy year, including the release of their new album Let’s Start Degeneracy and plenty of touring behind it, and they’ve already got some exciting plans for 2025. They’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2014 debut album Stovall with a hometown Atlanta show on February 15, and that’s a triple 10th anniversary show that also features Free Throw playing Those Days Are Gone and Prawn playing Kingfisher.
With 2024 coming to a close, Microwave members Nathan Hardy (vocals, guitar), Tyler Hill (bass), and Tito Pittard (drums) have teamed up to make us a list of their 10 favorite albums of the year. It includes Four Year Strong (whose Worcester holiday show Microwave open this Saturday), Foxing, Tyler the Creator, Medium Build, and more, and the band have given us commentary on each pick. Read on for what they had to say.
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Microwave’s 10 Favorite Albums of 2024
Nate:
Porches – Shirt
I’ve been loving Porches since 2016 and Shirt is undeniably the best Porches album so far. The songs are so good. “Itch,” “Rag,” and “Joker” are my favorites (and everyone else’s on Spotify apparently), but the whole album is really good. Aaron Maine (Porches) self-produced and recorded the album and then had it mixed by Geoff Swan, who mixed the last couple Charli XCX and Ed Sheeran releases. That’s pretty similar to how Microwave did Let’s Start Degeneracy, so I have a special respect and admiration for how hard Aaron crushed every element of making this album.
Pom Poko – Champion
Sam from The Dirty Nil showed me this band in the green room in Cologne, Germany, on our spring UK/Euro co-headline tour. I was binging on Big Thief at the time. Pom Poko scratches the same itch in a cheeky, no-wave-ish Scandinavian way. I had the first half of the year to digest their incredible 2021 album Cheater before they dropped Champion. Both albums slap and have been on repeat.
Foxing – Foxing
Foxing continues to push the envelope on making creative, powerful music. I’m a longtime Foxing fan and a fan of heavy music, and this album did it for me. The lyrics are great. Eric Hudson from the band produced, recorded, and mixed it, and it sounds awesome.
Four Year Strong – Analysis Paralysis
We toured with Four Year Strong in 2022, and we’re about to play their holiday show in Worcester, MA. They’re a great band, and every album they put out is better than the last. Analysis Paralysis explores the beatdown metal riffs a little more, and I love that.
Tyler:
Medium Build – Country
My brother had been mentioning Medium Build to me for a few months, so when his latest album, Country, popped up on my Spotify home page, I had to give it a listen. “Beach Chair” played as we were driving into Paris on our UK/EU tour this April. I was still exhausted from the jet lag and kinda falling in and out of sleep as the intro guitar riff started. It was a perfect moment of music discovery. I kept the album on repeat the rest of the tour, with “Hey Sandra” quickly becoming my favorite track. I love the sing/talk delivery of the lyrics, and the guitar riff that loops throughout is unique and beautiful. I often play that one multiple times before moving on to the rest of the record. “Cutting Thru The Country” and “Say It Back” are also standout tracks for me. When I first discovered Medium Build, his Spotify location showed Alaska, but I eventually learned that he’s originally from Marietta, Georgia, which is where Nate is from and right next to where Tito and I are from. Though, as I type this, his Spotify location now shows Marietta, Georgia. Real small world type stuff. I wonder if Medium Build ever played at Swayze’s…?
Charley Crockett – $10 Cowboy and Visions of Dallas
If you like chill bluesy country/Americana tunes with some smooth slide guitar and a whole lotta twang, these albums are for you. He has a super high output and has released music almost every year since 2015, but TWO great albums in ONE year is just crazy. Unheard of in these times. I’ve had the pleasure of catching Charley Crockett live twice now, and he and his band do not disappoint.
Rarity – Lower Feeling
As fate would have it, we toured with their singer, Loeden, in 2022 with Four Year Strong. He was doing photography for FYS, and I had no idea he was in Rarity until our tour manager mentioned it to me several months later when we were on our headline tour this spring. By that time, Rarity had been slowly dropping tracks from Lower Feeling, and I spent many nights that tour ending the day jamming those songs. “Kiss!” is the standout track for me. The hook just straight-up smacks. Lots of bangers on this one.
Tito:
Cruza – Cruzafied
A nice R&B psychedelic soul vibe. Didn’t really listen to this artist till the last couple of months, but it’s been nonstop since then.
Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia
The best album from Tyler and best visuals in his new music videos. Stoked to start seeing him being a part of the film industry.
Baby Rose – Slow Burn
Amazing album that takes you back to the past from sounding old but still has that new sound.
