Norman Westberg is a guitarist known for anchoring the monolithic avant-rock of Swans. Away from the band's trademark volume, however, his solo work—like the Lawrence English-produced After Vacation—abandons traditional riffs for meditative, ambient drone. By manipulating sustained tones through effect pedals, Norman restructures the instrument's sound into atmospheric compositions. His career balances decades of dense post-punk with restrained, minimalist solo recordings.