Bug on Yonkers came about when the dude behind the synth-punk-prog project
Damaged Bug John Dwyer hit a bit of a slump while trying to come up with songs for a new record. Not a problem one might expect the leader of one of the most prolific bands ever,
Oh Sees, to have, but he found himself at a loss. As an exercise, he turned to the songs of one of his musical heroes,
Michael Yonkers, and decided to record some of his favorites, mostly dipping into
Yonkers' late-'60s classic
Microminiature Love but also exploring some other trippy and weird avenues along the way. Listening to the work of both
Yonkers and
Dwyer, it's easy to pick out the commonalities, like unexpected song structures, barely contained passion, a disregard for the status quo, and a unique lyrical viewpoint. One big difference between the two iconoclasts is in the way
Dwyer and this edition of
Damaged Bug (which includes keyboardist
Tomas Dolas, drummer
Nick Murray, and longtime
Dwyer cohort
Brigid Dawson) tackle the songs with a fierceness and power that
Yonkers couldn't quite generate.
Yonkers' songs are slippery and sound unrehearsed when he recorded them; here they come to life in the hands of some of the most intense, sure-handed musicians currently playing.