More a feeling than a musical genre, witch house lives up to its name only in that, when done well, it evokes an emotion. In the hands of Pennsylvania-based producer Balam Acab (or Alec Koone, as the DMV knows him), it pulls together warm beds of fuzzy synths, echoey whispers, and even a few Kanye-circa-2003 helium-voiced hooks. It adds up to pulsing, breathing mood music, more akin to what Enya would make if she listened to more hip-hop than Celtic music. (Maybe “nü age” is a better descriptor than witch house?) But what it all comes down to, as Koone bathes the stage in blue mood lighting and his face in the light of his Mac, has more to do with what you experience when you surrender your ego and suspend disbelief, and that’s when the magic or witchery begins. With Kuhrye-oo and Rimar.
Sat., Dec. 1, 8:30 p.m., 2012