LUCAS

Oberlin College has had a long line of artistes pass through its liberal arts ranks (Karen O, Liz Phair, John McEntire), but the weirdest auteur yet might be a fellow who goes by the name Skeletons, but whose mother knows him as Matt Mehlan. Skeletons 'skewed take on pop first appeared in 2003 on his own Shinkoyo label as a solo project, but after only one more simple release, he found the ears of some of the most important music listeners out there: label people.

Ann Arbor's avant-pop powerhouse Ghostly International soon came calling and Skeletons responded by forming a backing band he dubbed the Girl-Faced Boys, and they recorded an album (Git) that seemed to be the logical heir to the paranoid white funk of the Talking Heads.

This time around, Skeletons 'crew is called the Kings of All Cities. So why the name change between Git and LUCAS? It's hard to tell, but it's probably the sound. Whereas Git was all nervous energy, LUCAS is a self-assured mess. Witness “Let It Out,” which purrs along like a Sea and Cake song performed by perverts — or the multiple organs of “Sickness,” which coat the track in a gauzy… read more »