Wander/Wonder

Balam Acab is a man who clearly admires mental intimacy. His shimmering, translucent melodies are wrapped in bass-heavy beats that mimic the organic pulse of natural systems, something plain to see in his debut album Wander/Wonder. Less a collection of songs, the young Tri Angle artist has made something closer to an ever-evolving soundtrack that tells the story of new creation which comes not from the heavens, but from the sea. The result is heart-rendingly beautiful, equal parts fragile light and crushing dark.

'Welcome' bubbles from endless depths, static and electronic tones blinking before the insistent push of pressure squeezes the heart. The song of an angel trapped in a thick, oily abyss, struggling to emerge. Wings and muscles strain before finally exploding free as the skies open up in a choir of light. A hush as a universe is born: a throbbing heartbeat, the maternal touch of pitched-up vocals, the pulse of Creation that is 'Apart'. Lust and sweat bring moans that signal another act of creation, rhythmic 'Motion'. Fucking to birth humanity, glistening R&B bass dipped in black chrome and unleashed under flickering and unnatural light. 'Expect' is the drowsy aftermath, whispered affections and affected whispers tickling down the spine of liquid strings.

A burst of birdsong rises from the bottom of the sea as 'Now Time' emerges on a wash of tidal flows, and with it a consciousness is spat out to float on the surface. Sleepy, ambiguous vocals snare with half-heard promises before the music-box melodies and delicate murmurs of 'Oh, Why' entwine completely. The mind is lost on a vast, sable sea that reflects an infinity of stars. 'Await' sets ancient clockwork in motion: time exists once more. The creating voice at once welcomes and says goodbye, the waves lapping over mind and form as it is washed onto the shores of reality. 'Fragile Hope' is the crush that signals this arrival: a gray sun, hunger, rain and hope. Hope is the preservative of the mind. But hope may not be fulfilled. A fragment of a half-remembered promise from a lover is recalled, but, ultimately, is lost in the sound of the rain. All that is left is just an echo.