Chwasty Polskie ( in English, Polish Weeds) is the debut album from this Warsaw three-piece. It’s a five-track affair that oftens a atmospheric, often building/developing sound that weaves together elements of electronica, post rock, post industrial/ ambient soundscapes and moody improv - for an engaging and at times rewardingly unpredictable ride

The project brings together MichaÅ‚ GÅ‚owacki (ex-SoSlow) – electronics, computers, f/x., Arkadiusz Lerch (SoSlow, CzerÅ„) – drums, percussion, Grzegorz Chudzik (Maszyny i Motyle / ex-Rigor Mortiss) - bass. With the addition of guitar and flute on a few tracks. And really, the album feels like an even split of their talents, as each player's sonic identity is evenly balanced in each of the five tracks, which last between six and thirteen minutes.

We move from “Kakol” which opens with a mix of brooding synth bass hovers, wailing guitar tones, and steadily battering percussion. With In time, a hauntingly whistling synth lead and a stabbing, almost techno key pulse are added, as well as touches of almost dub-like reverb appearing on the beats.

There’s “Wrotycz i NawÅ‚oć” where we open with a blend of steady stabbing Carpenter-like synth tones and snaking ‘n’ crashing drums. As the track moves on, more blues-rock tinged guitar lines enter, along with more detailed & moody percussion hits. Later trails of moody flute are added, as well as more militant cymbal detail.

Finally, we have “Oset”- it opens with a taut blend of constantly darting bass guitar, bounding & hiss beats, and this rapidly developing Arabic meets building spacerock churn- underfed by clean key atmospherics.

I’ll have to say, when I normally see post-rock in a band's description, more often than not  I’ll avoid said band, as I’m afraid a genre that started off as trying to do something new/ expansive with the rock form, it’s now often full of cliches & predictable tropes. But this isn’t the case with Hvast, as they blend in other genres to their sound, and when the post-rock elements appear, they feel rewarding/ well realised/ fresh.  Quite a few of the tracks here remind me of Finland’s Circle, in the way they lock down into compelling grooves/ developing structures, with a wonderful feeling of free genre blending ‘n’ blurring.

All in all, I was very much taken by what Chwasty Polskie had to offer, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for future work from the project. If you enjoy where electronica, post rock, post industrial/ ambient soundscapes and moody improv meet in an often atmospheric way, it’s a must check out.