Wander/Wonder

Wander/Wonder is the debut studio album by American record producer Alec Koone under the pseudonym Balam Acab. It was released on August 29, 2011, through Tri Angle. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Background

Balam Acab's Alec Koone recorded Wander/Wonder in the house where he grew up. The album includes Creative Commons-licensed recordings that he found online. He mixed the album with Sam Haar of Blondes.

Critical reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Wander/Wonder received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 from 14 critic scores.

Andrew Graham of The Phoenix described the album as "a fully fleshed-out record, with enticing dimension and its own subtle meanings." Mark Richardson of Pitchfork commented that "its primary concern is simple aesthetic beauty, the way a small and specific combination of sounds, carefully arranged but given room to breathe, can have a deep emotional impact." Heather Phares of AllMusic stated, "See Birds was just five songs long, but it covered more musical territory; by contrast, Wander/Wonder is an exercise in depth, a flowing suite of mermaid's lullabies that turn seductive." She added, "Though it's a very different journey than See Birds, Wander/Wonder is another testament to Koone's abilities as a sensitive and evocative producer."

Kevin Liedel of Slant Magazine commented that "Any abiding temptation to throw Wander/Wonder into the witch-house pile stems directly from Koone's reliance on chunky, creeping drum machines, but drowsy percussion is where the similarities end." He added, "Balam Acab's sound is more dream than dread, a patchwork of sleepy instrumentation, elfin vocal samples, and sound effects meant to evoke the watery clockwork of a seafloor vista." Will Ryan of Beats Per Minute stated, "Vocal fragments are turned into helium-voiced singers and the movements and peaks in the tracks push Acab's emotional affect to a startling degree, not to mention well beyond simple melodic proficiency." Andrew Ryce of Resident Advisor described the album as "the kind of record that can pull you into its emotional undertow from the minute those helium angels start singing."

Accolades

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alec Koone.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

• Alec Koone – production, mixing
• Sam Haar – mixing
• Emmette Murkett – photography

Charts

External links

• at Discogs (list of releases)