If there’s one new Santa Barbara band worth getting to know in the upcoming year, it’s Uncle Uncle. The young act is primed for a positive year ahead — and you, their listener, will be, too.
The band kicks off 2019 with a New Year’s Day release of its Jawbone Wells EP and a show at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club on Friday, January 4. Within slightly over a year of its 2017 formation in Isla Vista, the four-piece has garnered a rather loud buzz of appreciation and adoration among Isla Vistans, Goodlanders, and Santa Barbarans eager for new indie-rock music.
Jawbone Wells clues you in to what’s on offer: guitar-driven poems of casual wisdom and laid-back confidence, all road-trip ready and hard-driving. Songs such as the title-track opener and “Nira (I’m Alive)” resonate with heart and a forward-looking feel. Blending the wise woe of Jeff Tweedy and Jason Molina with the Zen slackerism of Mac DeMarco, it’s music you can rock to thoughtfully. “There’s moments of happiness and sadness and introspection — all those feelings are welcome there,” said lead singer and rhythm guitarist Kevin Cappon. “I like to think there’s something genuine to our music that people are attracted to.”