Microwave – “Circling The Drain”

We haven’t heard from the 2016-vintage Band To Watch Microwave since 2019’s Death Is A Warm Blanket — until today! The Atlanta band is heading out on tour soon with Joyce Manor, The Story So Far, and Mom Jeans, and they have a new song to insert into their setlists.

“Circling The Drain” — not to be confused with Soccer Mommy’s magnificent “circle the drain” — is a bit softer and poppier than Microwave’s prior material but still ends up ripping pretty hard. The song taps into that bleary yet accessible ’90s vibe so many indie/punk acts are mining these days; specifically it reminds me of how Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” might have sounded had they released it a few years later, when alt-rock was fully in its glossy Third Eye Blind era. The song is engaging from the start, and when that chorus hits, it’s like a tidal wave. Listen below.