MICROWAVE and PUDDLE SPLASHER Release Collaborative Split, Fall Tour
The Atlanta and New Jersey bands co-wrote and recorded tracks at Barbershop Studios with producer Brett Romnes.
Microwave has announced a new two-song split release with West Orange, NJ's Puddle Splasher, arriving September 25. Both songs were co-written and performed together by the two bands.
Over a decade ago, Microwave were still a young band out of Atlanta trying to find their scene across the globe. Through social platforms, message boards, Bandcamp charts, and good old-fashioned word of mouth, they found the people and peers that would go on to help them become a fixture of modern alt-rock.
In 2015, despite having never met in person, they teamed up with Buffalo's Head North for a split release. Now, 11 years, four albums, and countless miles traversed later, Microwave returns to the format.
Splits have been one of punk's smartest traditions: bands using their own platform to put people onto another band they believe deserves to be heard. Microwave and Puddle Splasher take things a step farther here by co-writing and performing both songs, 'STEP INSIDE' and 'HEEL,' together.
Nathan Hardy, vocalist and guitarist for Microwave, explains:
'As long time Puddle Splasher fans, we had a great time sending ideas back and forth and eventually getting together with them at Barbershop Studios in New Jersey to hang out and work with Brett Romnes to record a couple tracks. Working with Brett was a long time coming as he's recorded several of our friends' bands and several of our favorite records over the last decade or two. Surprisingly enough, the songs sound like a cross between Microwave and Puddle Splasher. Dante and Adam played drums and bass on 'Step Inside.' Tito and Tyler played drums and bass on 'Heel.' Nathan and Andy sang and played guitars on both songs.'
'Step Inside' is a brooding, groovy track with a trip-hop influenced outro and a soundscape of layers, 'one of which is Tito 'ohm-ing' like a shaman in the background,' Nathan shares. Its counterpart, 'Heel,' is a dynamic, high-energy rock anthem about wanting move to Florida and start a death metal band.
For Microwave, this new split brings things full circle in the same year the band celebrated 10 years of their breakout record, Much Love. The connection continues this fall when Microwave go on a co-headlining North American tour alongside Free Throw, with Puddle Splasher jumping on the final two dates of the tour, too.
Tour Dates
October 09 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel*
October 10 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre*
October 11 – Birmingham, AL – Furnace Fest
October 13 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom*
October 14 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman*
October 16 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater*
October 17 – Taos, NM – The Mothership*
October 19 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues*
October 22 – Pomona, CA – Glasshouse*
October 23 – Fresno, CA – Tioga-Sequoia Brewing*
October 24 – Reno, NV – Cargo Concert Hall*
October 26 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
October 28 – Calgary, AB – Palace Theatre
October 29 – Edmonton, AB – Pawn Shop Live
October 31 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre
November 01 – Minneapolis, MN – The Varsity^
November 02 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave^
November 03 – Lansing, MI – Grewal Hall^
November 04 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian^
November 06 – Worcester, MA – Palladium^
November 07 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom^
November 08 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore^
November 10 – Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27^
November 11 – Wilmington, DE – The Queen #
November 12 – Greensboro, NC – The Pyrle #
* Flycatcher
^ Kerosene Heights
# Puddle Splasher
About Microwave
Formed in Atlanta in the early 2010s, Microwave is Nathan Hardy (he/him; vocals/guitar), Tyler Hill (he/him; bass), and Tito Pittard (he/him; drums). Across four albums and over a decade, they've built a following around their blend of emo-tinged alt-rock, post-hardcore, and psychedelics. Pulling equally from bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Manchester Orchestra, Microwave captures the uncertainty of early adulthood with songs that blur the lines between humor, existential dread, philosophy, and sheer honesty. With each release, their audience only continues to grow and Microwave only continues to evolve. From the darker, heavier turn of 2019's Death Is A Warm Blanket to the experimentation of 2024's Let's Start Degeneracy, each record stretches the boundaries of what they're capable of––a testament to Microwave's unexpected and enduring appeal.
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