There are certain albums which so perfectly evoke a particular feeling or mood that it seems as though these artists were channeling some intangible aspect of their own selves. That, regardless of any grand sentiment that could be gained or intended from the music, this is how they feel and only want to share it with the listener. To be honest, this could be said for many artists but there is something more from records like these and the difference is felt not heard, the subtle movements, the almost inperceptible changes in tone and function. It's these kinds of records which resonate so well with me. I can always love conceptual records about the long arduous journey of....someone or the gritty realization of ones place in a constricting systemic world but it's the albums which use the very nature of music to convey their message and emotion which get inside my head and stay there, refusing to leave and acknowledging my grateful acceptance of that.
Out of the microcosm of musical peers who call witch house their musical home, it seems that only Balam Acab, née Alec Koone, with his lone EP and now debut full length, shows any signs of rising above the conceptual limitations of this genre and creating something greater than the sum of its parts. Wander / Wonder feels of a place, whether that place be a deserted beach on a forgotten stretch of land or a meandering river running into an underground cavern. It just feels. This is music to become enveloped by, to get inside of and wait for whatever Koone has in store for us. The differentiation between the tracks, though necessary for album purposes, becomes a bit meaningless when you realise that this album flows much like a river, with its own ebbs and shallows, every few steps taking us into deeper waters, until we're unable to see the bottom.
I've used the ideas and images of water extensively and I feel that they are the perfect way to capture the essence of what is obstensibly an album that uses the sounds and images of nature and the ever-shifting, changing properties of water to facilitate our understanding of what Koone is trying to relate to us through this amorphous, beautifully constructed album, that music can be whatever we need it to be, that it is not anchored to any particular feeling or narrative arc. And as such, this album tends to be more intensely personal the further we go into its depths. We begin to attach special significance to certain parts and particular stretches of music therein. And through these attachments, the music which begins to hold such personal meaning to the listener, unfolds upon us and allows the connection between Koone and the listener to take firm hold. He just wants us to know that it's okay, whatever it is, that everything will be okay.
Tracklisting:
01. Welcome
02. Apart
03. Motion
04. Expect
05. Now Time
06. Oh, Why (listen to the mp3 below)
07. Await
08. Fragile Hope
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