Skeletons began as the solo project of Chicago native musician and filmmaker Matt Mehlan in 2001.
In 2003, Mehlan released the albums Life and the Afterbirth and I'm At the Top of the World on Shinkoyo, an Oberlin College-based music collective known for its focus on group improvisation and DIY ethics.
The album was recorded in the band's converted Queens warehouse studio and home, The Silent Barn.
Lucas was described by Pitchfork as "an outsize global-a-go-go mélange of unceasing polyrhythms, Afrobeat guitars, free jazz, and Timbaland's approach to kitchen-sink percussion.
[3] The album features Mehlan playing a custom-built instrument called the "Shtar".