
Copper Sulphate Crystals
a review by interphaze ofrelease format Copper Sulphate Crystals by Man In Formaldehyde (PBIRD CD002)
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'Copper Sulphate Crystals' sounds like an antique find from a beautifully cultured past, a treasure-box of beatific electro-acoustic classical strings, xylophones and stuttering little mechanical drum-machines. Filled with lush instrumentation and spacious atmospherics, it has a very etheral otherworldy charm, and sits up there with other such recent organic electronic releases as Colleen and Mileece.
The opening track 'Copper Sulphate Crystal 1' has a feel to it like sepia tinged memories of strolling along a british seaside pier, slightly melancholic, a glimpse of a past lost forever. 'The Sacred Heart of Jesus' wanders close to 'Godspeed You Black Emperor' heights of epic proportion and sound, stereophonic orchestral strings, processed electric guitar, horns and percussion framed with casio melodies and laid back acoustic strumming.
A broken piano loop and waves of static, like rain on a window, introduces 'Birds Spin In Magnetic Milk'. A bass that sounds like a generator hum surges up, as the sounds intensify, playing off each other and expanding into drones before dissolving again into shrapnel.
'Mothers Day' has a bassline which slowly morphs back and forth from speaker to speaker, revealing tendrils of captured conversations and pockets of melody as if they were bubbles floating upwards through liquid.
'Zero G 100's and 1,000's experiment 2' could be a soundtrack to a black and white forties movie, save for the sine wave frequencies and the low throbbing hint of technology, and the closing track 'Copper Sulphate Crystal 2' is another grandly sombre song of half diluted memories fading in the light of dawn.
Quite a stunning piece of work altogether, and a great debut for this Isle Of Wight based label.
Posted by interphaze at 10:57, 24 Sep 2003