Matthew Rozeik & Ylid: Matthew Rozeik & Ylid
Static Caravan

Matthew Rozeik and Ylid (Rob Lyon) alternate songs on this four-track EP of largely instrumental acoustic-electronic pop. In Rozeik's “How Do I Find You,” delicate melodies drop from a glimmering sky onto a writhing bed of glitch until the melancholy saw of violins appears, rendering the already-layered mass of sound even denser while a patchwork array of squelchy hip-hop beats, church organ, and writhing noises lumbers across the landscape in “Community Service.”

Ylid's acoustic plucks a monotone path through a thick forest of crackling rustles and ripples, allowing a chiming electric guitar to rise above the textural mass (“Wet Faces”); mournful by comparison, weary beats lurch through “I Stole You” while a distorted voice ekes out a woozy line. There's certainly nothing objectionable about the material's rough edges and the songs are decent enough exercises in glitchy pop, but they're not spectacular either. Simply put, more memorable songwriting is needed if Rozeik and Ylid aspire to rise above the electronic masses.

April 2006