Spent Lives
Which witch house wins? Balam Acab’s witch house wins. Balam Acab, otherwise known as Alec Koone, caught our attention a long time ago with his work, and a few days ago he released a new EP—Child Death. Aside from the real cute name, Child Death shows us not one side, but many sides of the Ithaca-based producer. The 5 track release takes the listener on an electronic journey that’s both light and dark at times, but mostly dark. It’s like the soundtrack for that really messed up version of Hansel and Gretel. Fun, right?
The second track off of Child Death, “Spent Lives,” caught our attention here at TMN the most. This mini-journey just takes you everywhere. It starts out with sci-fi spacey sounds, placing you in a twinkling landscape that speaks in chrome. Then Alec brings us into a darker place that seems more apropos given the EP’s name, and we’re sucked into a wormhole of echoing vocals, screeching samples, and deep and haunting bass tones. We actually find it to be very similar to Arca’s works, and that’s a big compliment. We think as subgenres of electronic get more and more exposure, witch house will be one that everyone knows. And when that happens, Balam Acab will be at the forefront right up there with oOoOO and Holy Other. And rightfully so.
