Norman Westberg & Jacek Mazurkiewicz - First Man In The Moon [Hallow Ground Promo]

Released on March 12th, 2k21 via Switzerland's ever active Hallow Ground-imprint is "First Man In The Moon", the first ever collaborational longplay effort by producer - and former Swans guitarist - Norman Westberg and Jacek Mazurkiewicz who's well known in the underground circuit of his Polish homeland for a gazillion of projects, collaborations and disguised solo productions released over the course of the past 15 years or so. Together, the two artists embark on a five tracks and roughly 37 minutes spanning, well explorative journey - all recorded over the course of two studio sessions taking place in Warsaw back in 2019. The result is rather spatial, yet not so much space-focused as the album title might suggest but rather evoking more of a feel of maritime melancholia, pairing touchingly deep Ambient tones with what seem to be creaky ropes in the opening tune that is "What Is Good For The Goose" whereas the subsequent follow up "That Was Then" weighs in glistening, slightly feedback-driven guitars somewhat meandering in between the likes of Fennesz and echoes of Post-PostRock / Post-DesertRock released on labels like Kranky the likes of. With the title track "First Man In The Moon" Norman Westberg and Jacek Mazurkiewicz cater a take of relaxed, inward-looking and guitar-driven Deep Listening Music , followed by the blurred, yet hypnotic loops and layers of  "Falsely Accused" which is a little too intense to be bordering the genre sometimes referred to as PopAmbient and the final cut that is "Oxnard" pairs slightly washed out electronics with twangy, slightly off-kilter guitar tones and somewhat brooding strings for a well unsettling farewell in dim twilight.