SBTRKT - Transitions [EP]

SBTRKT
Transitions [EP]
5 May 2014
Young Turks

3 stars out of 5

 

London’s Aaron Jerome records and remixes under the name SBTRKT. The new Transitions EP is a compilation of three 12” records, titled Transitions I, II, and III (creative, right?). Presumably released as a stop-gap between 2011’s SBTRKT and a second, forthcoming LP, Transitions really doesn’t do much to whet the appetite for new material.

“Hold the Line,” one of the more interesting tracks here, sounds like mid-‘90s Autechre, full of glitchy drum programming and melancholy keyboard sounds. “Resolute” is a good approximation of Mouse on Mars from the same era, laden with ring modulated percussion and a relatively sunny melody. “Stifle” has its interesting textures, but again, like the rest of the tracks here, seems more like a half-realized mistake than as a fully-explored composition.

While these short-lived highlights (none of the tracks are longer than four and a half minutes) are nice while they last, they seem like orphans in a room full of other orphans—or perhaps a transition home where no one can truly be at home. Nothing really belongs here, which makes sense if these are cast-offs from a future album, but it doesn’t make for any sort of sustained listening enjoyment.

reviewed by Richard Krueger