Balam Acab: Wander/Wonder

Balam Acab
Wander/Wonder
Rating: Grrrr

It seems the past couple of weeks has been all about the second albums from members lumped into the chillwave genre, most shedding that genre entirely while others making slight changes to their sound, but all to very lackluster effect. This week seems to be the change over to witch house, the much maligned genre that appeared out of nowhere and then faded out just as quickly. The hallmarks of witch house included torpid tempos, ghostly backing synths, manipulated vocals/samples, and hints of Southern rap. Balam Acab, 20 year old instrumentalist Alec Koone, was lumped into the witch house category (his debut EP See Birds contained many of the witch house elements, but never truly felt like it belonged along the likes of the notable bands such as Salem and oOoOO) but has since forged his own path ahead.

Wander/Wonder does retain the witch house template (glacial BPMs, icy keyboards and textures, and a reliance on pitch-shifted vocal samples), however, Koone is not as interested in creating a sense of dread as are most of his contemporaries. Instead, we see a studied variation of almost classical tones with Eno-esque ambient leanings. Most of the tracks are also steeped in a liquidy atmosphere, from the album cover art of an ocean fissure to the overall sound quality of the album, sounding like it were recorded deep in a diving bell. First track "Welcome" burbles and gurgles like ships emerging from a watery grave, lurching forward with industrial tinged percussion and the haunting, almost operatic vocal sample.



These classical touches appear all over the record, moving in a different direction from most electronic music these days that too readily rely on more R&B samples. "Oh, Why" is a gentle, pastoral track featuring lovely harp interludes unified with a child-like pitch shifted vocal.



Closing track "Fragile Hope" effortlessly blends all these elements together into a gorgeous tableau. The sonics are so textured you can almost feel the water dripping onto your skin.



Koone provides only slight hints at what he wants you to feel for or take from his tracks. The titles are minimal and vague, giving only slight signposts for the journey. He chooses to let his music speak for itself. "Now Time" evokes feelings of floating underwater, allowing time and space to cease.



That's not to say that Wander/Wonder is all background music. The tracks are so sonically dense it truly immerses you in its insular world. If ever an album called for headphones it is this. "Apart" expertly juggles several different textural elements, the scraping, off-kilter drum loop, dripping background effects, and pitch-shifted vocal, all working together to create a true whole.



"Expect" uses heavenly vocals interspersed with chiming harps and buzzing synths lull the listener into a false sense of calm, before the drum machine kicks in to what is probably the only semi-frantic moment on the record.



Wander/Wonder defies expectations because it truly showcases an artist unwilling to be pigeonholed into a genre. Had he just released See Birds II it is likely he would have faded into obscurity, instead of taking a huge leap forward with his sound, and releasing one of the most striking records of the year.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.