As one of the most enduring acts to rise from the underground in the mid-aughts, Mayday Parade has soundtracked both adolescence and adulthood for millions of listeners. Their music stands synonymous with the emo and pop-punk genres: 2007’s A Lesson In Romantics, their debut LP has been hailed as one of the best – and most influential – emo albums of all time by Alternative Press. Monsters In The Closet, their 2013 release, debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, and tracks like the Platinum-selling “Jamie All Over,” Gold-certified “Miserable At Best” and “Oh Well, Oh Well” represent not only widespread commercial acclaim, but the sort of artist-audience relationship that’s fortified them across changing musical landscapes and the ebb and flow of an unforgiving industry.

Now, as they celebrate a remarkable 20 years as a band in 2025, the Tallahassee, Florida, five-piece are set to release perhaps their most aspirational effort yet: a three-part album showcasing their prolific, emotionally resonant songwriting. The first entry, Sweet, arrives April 18, 2025, led by the effervescent bounce of “By The Way,” a pitch-perfect blend of what’s made Mayday Parade a genre mainstay for decades: a tender, piano-led groove ultimately giving way to a crush of stereo guitars, ascendent melodies, and heart-on-sleeve lyricism.

“As we got closer to our 20th anniversary, it felt right to do something big and unexpected,” vocalist Derek Sanders says.

From start to finish, Let’s Start Degeneracy marks a liberated new chapter for Microwave, one unbound by realities other than their own. Recorded between Atlanta and Nashville and later mixed by Josh Wilbur (Korn, Bad Religion) and mastered by Brad Blackwood (Maroon 5, Lamb of God), the long-awaited fourth full-length record from Microwave, is a trip. Its title, taken from a conservative politician's take on drugs in 1970, captures the band's newfound liberated spirit, and its tracks play by no one's rules but their own. At various points the Atlanta trio of vocalist/guitarist Nathan Hardy, bassist Tyler Hill, and drummer Timothy “Tito” Pittard pull together a multitude of influences ranging from ambient pop and R&B to psychedelia and yes, even Sublime.

Lyrically, Let's Start Degeneracy is loaded with revelations, some of which came to Hardy after experiences with ayahuasca in Peru with Tito. As the pandemic wound down, the two reconvened with bassist/vocalist Tyler Hill and together, found their way back to being Microwave again.

“It’s about letting go of attachments and behaviors that aren’t serving you and trying to shake off your programming and not be motivated by fear and guilt and shame,” says Hardy. “It’s about learning to be happy and take care of yourself.”

A rock band from Philly.

Emo band from Berkeley, CA