David Nguyen

A real gem...

"Copper Sulphate Crystals" occupies an ambient soundscape painted with gorgeous melodies, sinister atmospheres, crunching beats and electro bleeps. It's ripe with nods to classical music - pianos, strings, organs and chimes - as well electronic music - synths, sounds effects and other computer-generated tomfoolery - but it reveals its strength solely as a collection of remarkable and unique pieces of music.

To cite a handful of tracks on the album:

"A3055" starts as a gentle spatter of notes and bleeps but evolves into a beautiful string and piano-driven epic, sounding much like the theme to a scandanavian drama film, where one envisions this piece heating up those icey barren landscapes; the sweet and melancholy "The Sacred Heart of Jesus" moves along with an insanely catchy melody, underwritten by folk rhythms, bleeps and acoustic guitars; the noise and frenetic beat workout of "Earthmonster 1" dares take the album in an assertively darker (and not so musical) direction; the happy organs of "Harry's Song" sound like a folk soundtrack written for a Commodore 64 game; and the closing "Copper Sulphate Crystal 2" sounds much like a buried treasure from ambient/alternative stalwarts Rothko, but with a broader sound palette and an earful of Man In Formaldehyde's own brand of cinematic and musical gold.

It's safe to say however that this whole album is a gem. I write so kindly about "Copper Sulphate Crystals" because I believe it's greatness lies in its broad emotional scope: from sweet to sour, from happy to melancholy, from blissful chill out to the dark confines of noise exercises, this album has it all. But with a name like Man In Formaldehyde and titles like "Copper Sulphate Crystals" or "Zero G 100's and 1,000's experiment 2", you'd think this album might be in some way cold or mechanical. Yet surprisingly (or perhaps rather unsurprisingly) this a warm and moving record - closer to something spiritual than science.