Listen to Uncle Lucius’ “Gulf Coast Gypsies” Ahead of New Album “The Light”
Austin-based road warriors Uncle Lucius are getting ready to release their fourth album The Light on June 9th through Thirty Tigers, and Saving Country Music has an exclusive track for you to listen to early called “Gulf Coast Gypsies.” Produced by George Reiff at Austin’s Treefort Studios, the new album includes songwriting contributions from all of Uncle Lucius’ four members, and a couple from one of the band’s previous members.
“This is actually one of two songs written by our former bass player, Mr. Hal Vorpahl,” says singer Kevin Galloway. “He was in the band up to two years ago. He just doesn’t want to be on the road anymore, but still writes songs. “Gulf Coast Gypsy” is about … well we’ve been on the road quite a bit over the past six years or so. It’s kind of like we live there. And we love the gulf coast. I was born just south of Houston, and this is about traveling from Houston to New Orleans like we’ve done many times.”
Kevin Galloway says The Light is a big step forward for the band.
“We think it’s our best album to date. Our last album was on a label. We were able to walk away from the label, and we did this on our own. The whole album in itself is about the journey—maybe about being on the road specifically, or the journey to the inside of yourself. Maybe the deeper journey, asking the bigger questions. We’re all in our 30’s and been around this a while. We’re just asking about the deeper questions in life in general.”
Earlier this week, a 233-page Austin Music Census study was released highlighting many of the struggles the “Live Music Capital of the World” and many of its musicians are facing amidst rapid growth in the city. Asked for his perspective, Kevin Galloway says,
“I moved here to Austin almost 14 years ago, and started the band about 10 years ago. And we started in Austin. We started playing for free to nobody. And we’ve come up here. You know you’re not going to make much money in Austin because it’s such a saturated market, but Austin itself has changed so much in these last 10 years. The landscape has changed, especially with all the condos going up and this whole sound ordinance ordeal. The police are out with decibel readers. It’s tough, but I also see a positive in it, in that there’s much more of an audience here now. You can still work your way up. There are a lot of negatives, but I like to see the silver lining that I would rather live in a city that’s alive and open to creativity.”
The Light is available for pre-order through iTunes.
June 3, 2015 @ 3:01 pm
I like this. Sort of a mellow take on Southern rock. I’m gonna look up more of these guys now.
June 3, 2015 @ 3:04 pm
” Keep the Wolves Away ” and ” Pocket Full of Misery ” are really fine tunes. Those would be good starting points Darth.
June 3, 2015 @ 3:43 pm
“Produced by George Reiff at Austin”™s Treefort Studios,”
sounds like he did a really nice job”¦. great, full sound on this tune.
I sure like this one.
June 3, 2015 @ 3:44 pm
really like the singer’s voice”¦.
June 3, 2015 @ 4:31 pm
Had the CD about a month. Love UL! Cant say its better or worse than And You Are Me or Pick Your Head Up ( because they are bad ass), just different. More spiritual.
They put on a great live show, but never seem to leave TX.
June 3, 2015 @ 6:54 pm
See these guys live. ..you’ll definitely be hooked!!
June 5, 2015 @ 7:59 pm
This song has the familiar Uncle Lucius sound.
Always loved their other albums but this one sounds cleaner and more refined
June 7, 2015 @ 2:33 pm
I actually got this album early for donating to fund it’s making. I’ve been a huge UL fan for years, since I saw them open for Cody Canada & the Departed and Shooter Jennings at Cain’s. I have only listened to The Light once all the way through, so maybe it will grow on me, but I don’t like it as much as their previous albums. I feel like it’s missing something…groove or hooks or blues-y flair. I can’t quite figure out. But after my first listen, I don’t really remember anything from The Light making me want to go back to it. I LOVE the lyrics on the album though.. Especially the idea behind “The Light,” and Kevin’s voice is still soulful and amazing. I would recommend And You are Me or Keep your Head Up to a new fan checking them out for the first time.
I’m excited to hear what other people think about The Light though! Maybe a few more listens will win me over. That happens to me a lot!
June 7, 2015 @ 5:14 pm
Jon, Your group sounds awesome! hope to get to Austin one of these days to hear you in person. Good luck with new album! Hope to c u on CW awards someday soon. xxxx Mikki (& Jerry) Berkeley, Ca’
June 9, 2015 @ 10:50 pm
Hi Mikki! Thanks for checking us out. I hope to get back to the Bay Area before too long; we have a California tour coming in July but so far no dates near Berkeley. I’ll keep you posted!