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Lucas & Lukas — Omnidirectional
(Cuneiform Rune 3412, 2026, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-09-27

Omnidirectional Cover art

Before I sat down to write this review I had no idea what I was going to say about this excellent recording, much like guitarist / composer Gary Lucas and drummer / composer Lukas Ligeti probably had nothing pre-planned when they set out to record this session. Lucas is a guitarist‘s guitarist, having played with Captain Beefheart in the 1980s (including Doc at the Radar Station, Ice Cream for Crow) and just about everyone else after that, including his Cuneiform Captain Beefheart oriented project Fast ‘n’ Bulbous (Pork Chop Blue around the Rind – 2005, and Waxed Oop – 2009), while drummer Ligeti has more of a world-jazz background, having appeared on the early 90s Cuneiform releases Kombinat M – Hybrid Beat and The Siamese Stepbrothers. All four of those were outstanding releases, and those connections alone made Omnidirectional a very interesting proposition, even if it turned out to be nothing like their previous work that I was already familiar with. Three long tracks on Omnidirectional are 100% improvised, while a fourth shorter piece “Journey in Satchidananda“ is credited to Alice Coltrane, though the duo pushes it through their own filter, making it one of the most memorable of the set. The sound of the remaining three pieces, opener “Phlogiston,” as well as “Over 6 Million Served” and “Whorls within Whirls” could best be described as a collision between free jazz and psychedelic rock jamming, mostly wonderful and intriguing, other times chaotic and unsettling, but always captivating. The guitars are dense and brilliantly overlayed, fading in and out of view, while Ligeti’s percussion has just the right touch to serve the moment, whatever that moment may entail — sometimes a full kit onslaught, other times a more gentle approach that gives Lucas’ guitars plenty of space to soar. The most interesting moments herein are those that are the most unpredictable and explorative, and there are plenty of both.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Gary Lucas, Lukas Ligeti

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/omnidirectional

 

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