Where do you see yourself in five years? If you were to pose that question to Nathan Hardy back in 2019, you might not have liked the answer. At the time, ‘Death Is A Warm Blanket’ was more than just the title of Microwave’s third record – it became their mantra. With each dejected alt-rock hymn, Microwave would allow themselves to sink deeper into the pits of dismal pessimism and harrowing despair.
Fortunately, a lot can change in five years. In an uplifting blaze of psychedelia, ‘Let’s Start Degeneracy’ rejects Microwave’s foregone romanticisation of melancholy. The record is a testament to humanity – and it’s a far cry from frontman Nathan’s days of inebriated sorrow. From the playful charm of ‘Straw Hat’ to the mystically smooth ambience of ‘Huperzine Dreams’, this record views the world in technicolour and embraces the joyful intimacies of life
‘Let’s Start Degeneracy’ serves as a testament to how radically a perspective shift can change your life – and Microwave have changed a hell of a lot over the last decade. We caught up with Nathan to explore the multitude of sonic worlds and mindsets Microwave have explored over the years – and to understand how their new record has wound up being their happiest and most insightful venture yet.
ROCK SOUND: It’s been five years since your last record – why so long? Was it difficult writing this album?
NATHAN: “Writing is always a challenge. I’m not happy unless I’ve really pushed myself, and that definitely makes writing harder. Every record we’ve made something new, experimented with new sounds. We always push beyond what we initially thought we wanted it to sound like.”
RS: It’s also been a decade since your debut. How do you think your writing has improved over the last ten years?
NATHAN: “I’ve never been a natural songwriter, per se, but I hope I’ve gotten better since then. I like our music more and more with each release, especially lyrically. And I think I write on a more ‘macro’ level now, rather than just focusing internally.”
RS: Do you think you’ve changed much as a person since your debut?
NATHAN: “Definitely. 10 years ago, there was a solid two years where I was just sleeping on people’s couches. It was a stressful time – I grew up in the Mormon Church and I had just left right before I started the band. Writing was kind of an outlet to deal with the change, to find myself.”
“Now I’ve learnt a lot about who I am. And I’m definitely more of an adult now; I’m not trying to cling on to my early 20s. Sure, I’ve still got the same jeans, but I don’t wear my old Vans anymore. It’s nice though, looking back… each project is like a time capsule.”
RS: I was reading about the fact that you took Ayahuasca while you were writing this record – do you think that helped you discover yourself a bit more?
NATHAN: “Me and our drummer, Tito [Timothy Pittard], went down to Iquitos Peru for ten days in 2021. It was just as the pandemic was winding down and we were recommitting ourselves to working on a record. We did like six of the Ayahuasca rituals, where the local Shipibo people have ceremonies with Icaros singing.”
“But the Ayahuasca experience was just one part of an ongoing spiritual ‘side-quest’. Tito and I have always been into experimenting and micro dosing to learn more about ourselves. We also had a period of taking macro doses – we’d just lay on the ground and stare blankly, listening to Frank Ocean. But I love it as a therapeutic thing; psychedelics have helped me let a lot of things go.”
“I’ve been using psychedelics therapeutically lately, and the insights that I have experienced have definitely altered my perspective. This record explores the things I’ve learnt, especially how to uproot yourself from misery.”
RS: Yeah, you talk at length about how much misery is romanticised on the record. It’s pretty awful, honestly…
NATHAN: “People usually bring miserable shit up just because it’s the easiest way to connect with other people. There’s almost a camaraderie in it. But you can choose to adopt a different viewpoint; it’s possible to change how you treat misery, how you consider it to be the norm. When I realised I had the power to control how I feel, how I view misery, it really changed my worldview.”
RS: How has your new mindset impacted the record? What songs stand out as ones you couldn’t have written in the past?
NATHAN: “‘Ferrari’, ‘Straw Hat’ and ‘Huperzine Dreams’ are all filled with almost humanist sentiment. They’re filled with statements to encourage people to treat each other and themselves more kindly. ‘Huperzine Dreams’ in particular has the line “what if we drop the catastrophic fatalist philosophies.” It might feel preachy, but it’s a much nicer message than the last album. The last record took comfort in the idea that ‘everyone’s doomed and everything is awful.’”
RS: Are you kind of going back on yourself with this record, then?
NATHAN: “I feel like everyone has those two threads inside of them – you have good days and bad days. It’s not good to hold the bad shit inside, put on a fake smile. It’s important to strike a balance to be healthy. But I do think the world needs some positivity right now. People are festering and feeding off each other’s negativity.”
RS: Is that why you tried to go really ambient on this record – to immerse people in a sense of peace, almost like a drug trip?
NATHAN: “Yeah, it’s like an immersive, psychedelic experience. ‘Huperzine Dreams’ tries to almost capture the Huperzine high. It’s similar to an Adderall effect, but it’s not a stimulant. It’s really interesting to write on, because you get into a tunnel focus. It just amplifies any feeling, any interest. The first time I used it I also smoked weed, and it really amplified that sensation of being high. Then I went to an IKEA and I got so, so lost…”
“We wanted it to feel deeply relaxing, nestle in little things that tickle your senses. Like, you listen to it again and notice a little shooting star noise hidden in the track.”
RS: All the little xylophones twinkles and wind chimes are lovely! What other sounds have you buried into this record?
NATHAN: “There’s a lot of synth arpeggios and stuff. We also found samples and ran them through lots of plugins until we’d created a totally new sound. There was a lot of sonic exploration because we’ve never really dived into working with computer plugins this much. In the past we’ve explored pedals and guitar effects, but this was a totally new sonic frontier.”
RS: With every album, do you make a point of experimenting with a totally new sound palette?
NATHAN: “I think it’s hard for me to work up the dopamine to write unless I feel motivated and excited about working on new songs. I sort of adopted Stephen King’s viewpoint: when you’re writing a story, if you know exactly what’s going to happen to the characters from the beginning, the reader will also know.”
“My approach is a musical parallel – to work out what a song is in the creative process. I’m only happy with a song if it ends up being something I never could have anticipated before I started it.
RS: The range on this record keeps it feeling very exciting. ‘Concertito’ in particular is so cinematic – actually, is there a recording of someone showering on that track?
NATHAN: “That track’s one take of Tito playing the piano over a recording of my girlfriend, Blair, singing in the shower. She also sings on the first track, ‘Portal’, so it ties in nicely. The shower singing is also buried into ‘Huperzine Dreams’. We got really into the idea of creating a big picture in your head, with little, particular noises. I feel like there’s lots of future exploration to be had with that.”
RS: Is that the big plan – to continue growing and evolving with each release, forever?
NATHAN: “That’s what makes it fun, developing something new. We’re always exploring…. while still trying not to completely lose everyone.”
RS: What are you hoping that people take from this album?
NATHAN: “Over the last few years I feel like the world has lost a lot of faith in humanity… but I think that humans are inherently good. So I hope that people will listen to the record and adopt a more optimistic view of humankind.”
“We’ve always been caught in this dichotomy of caring too much and not caring at all… while also having at least one lyric related to shitting on every record. This time it’s ‘Huperzine Dreams’ with “trickling down God’s porcelain throne…” So hopefully people take something from that too.”
RS: Maybe you’re not more mature after 10 years after all…
NATHAN: “Maturing is important – but if I ever stop finding bathroom humour funny, then I’ve gone too far.”
