Texas Platters

Uncle Lucius

2009 was a slow year until Uncle Lucius came along. Pick Your Head Up is the local quartet's second album, and, even though few may have heard the first one, the 11-track disc is likely to be remembered for quite some time. There's nothing new about what these youths do, following in the Southern rock and soul footsteps of the Black Crowes and/or harkening even further back to the blue-eyed funk of the Band. The bruising "Fire on the Rooftop" and slinky "Everybody Got Soul" are two sides of the same coin, each showcasing stick-to-your-brain melodies backed with brawny musicianship led by the robust yet never flashy guitar of Michael Carpenter and dynamic vocals of Kevin Galloway. Southern rock's been twisting in the wind for ages now, but Austin's Uncle Lucius brings us back to its heyday and makes it feel good all over again.