A Million Keys

Michael Yonkers Band- Microminiature Love

I picked this up at Aquarius Records last weekend and this record could easily be one of the most amazing releases I’ve come across all year. The Michael Yonkers Band was the creative front for the Minneapolis-based guitarist and songwriter Michael Yonkers. Locally known in the late 1960s for his handcrafted guitars and effects, Yonkers used his creations to cultivate a distinct variety of darkly warped and jagged garage rock. His raw, simple and off kilter song structures often veer in pleasantly unexpected directions. “Boy In the Sanbox” clangs along with a bassline that is both slightly out of tune and out of sync until it swerves sharply into an avalanche of distortion. The lyrics, which narrate the life and death of a soldier in Vietnam, add a deeply ominous feel to the song. The deceivingly more upbeat “Microminiature Love” is irresistible throughout. But, like all of his music, the uncertain and slightly melancholic wavering of his voice bring it down, reminding me of Jonathan Richman or Mark Edwards. Michael Yonkers recorded Microminiature Love in 1968 for a release on Sire Records. However, due to a mysterious fall out with the label, the album was never put out. A few years later, Yonkers suffered a crippling accident to his spinal cord while working in an electronics warehouse and the incident severely limited his ability to play. The album remained in obscurity until 2003 when it was rediscovered and issued by De Stijl on limited edition vinyl and on CD by Sub Pop. In the overpopulated realm of garage rock reissues, Microminiature Love is singular.

Listen to Michael Yonkers Band + Boy In The Sandbox

Listen to Michael Yonkers Band + Microminiature Love