AMN Reviews: Luke Stewart – Works for Electric Bass Guitar (2021; Tripticks Tapes)

Luke Stewart does not mess around. He comes right at you on these five improvised solo bass tracks. While a relatively fresh face in the creative music scene, the DC-based Stewart has been receiving outsized acclaim for the last five years (at least). A member of Irreversible Entanglements, Heroes are Gang Leaders, Ancestral Duo, Six Six, and Blacks’ Myths, this is his first solo effort on electric.

Recorded in a charmingly lo-fi fashion, the album features Stewart exploring a spectrum that includes fast-paced outside playing and extended techniques. Accordingly, he employs rubbing, scraping, and popping of the strings, as well as chording and rapid work with his left hand. The tempo rarely lets up across 30 minutes of experimentalism, as each track is dense with dextrously played notes and other sounds. Stewart is unabashedly offbeat in his approach, and manages to single-handedly fill your brain with music.

Works for Electric Bass Guitar will be released on September 17 by Tripticks Tapes.