Norman Westberg, Jacek Mazurkiewicz - First Man in the Moon (2021) [Hi-Res]

Creaking drones, Badalamenti bass plucks and overdriven guitar - like Earth doing a Miasmah record with Bohren & der Club of Gore.

Atmospheric ambient abstraction here from ex-Swans guitarist Norman Westberg and double bassist Jacek Mazurkiewicz. The two agreed to collaborate after Mazurkiewicz supported Swans in 2014 and Westberg was impressed with the Polish soloist's fusion of acoustic and electronic sounds. A few years later they met again and headed into the studio to jam together and "First Man in the Moon" is the result of those fruitful sessions, edited, chopped and overdubbed obsessively by Mazurkiewicz.

The material is shadowy and weightless, guided by the two players' interest in texture and tone more than phrasing or riffing. Westberg's guitar comes in overdriven waves, building with measured, confident restraint; Mazurkiewicz meanwhile flits between plucked and bowed bass sounds and widescreen electronics, eking out a narrative from the jams. Needless to say, anyone into Erik K. Skodvin's Svarte Greiner material will find plenty of murky electro-acoustic surrealism to sink their teeth into here.

Tracklist:
01. Norman Westberg - What Is Good For The Goose (09:35)
02. Norman Westberg - That Was Then (08:29)
03. Norman Westberg - First Man In The Moon (06:45)
04. Norman Westberg - Falsely Accused (06:33)
05. Norman Westberg - Oxnard (05:47)