One year ago, almost to the day, I saw Michael Barker rock out on a stage in Utrecht, first with his own 1-800-Mikey band, then as a member of the mighty Gee Tee. The venue was nearly sold out, but what I remember most about the evening was how these two bands transformed the room into a lively crowd, and how a sense of (comm)unity was ignited. Everyone smiling, everyone having fun, no one being left out.
Well, that and that marvelous moment when a teenage punk asked my grey-haired brother (not Dennis) whether the show “was as good as in the late ’70s.”
My brother, mind you, was born in the late ’70s.
But I digress. The reason I wanted to bring last year’s show up is because 1-800-Mikey’s In Yun captures that feeling of downright joy. It is punk rock (and honestly, the B-side aims for a broader garage-pop sound) that is there for the taking, for everyone to enjoy. Not because it is super polished (it is not), or because it is tame with all the sharp edges sanded off (it is not), but because it all sounds so damn right infectious.
In Yun is full of songs that beg to become live anthems. Like Me and My Only, a song where the sonic waves between his Gee Tee gig and 1-800-Mikey one start to blur, and the “’cause I can’t stop thinking about you” is an awesome hook. The super-contagious Faery comes with synth licks disguised as choruses.
In Yun is twenty-one minutes of the funnest music you’ll hear this year. It is out now on Goner and Ragnar Records.