Max Cooper has a Ph.D. in computational biology and has conducted extensive research on gene regulatory networks and evolution. He then suddenly shifted his attention to making music.
His production style, meticulous crafting of beats, samples, loops and tone all resonate with his scientific background. Precise instrumentals and drum patterns lay the foundation for most of his songs. He then chooses the perfect synth, strings or piano chords to empower each track, stirring a cathartic experience in listeners.
Many of the sounds come from inspirations such as Radiohead’s masterful Kid A and Icelandic post-rock act Sigur Rós. Human resonates as a well-crafted, scientific electronic album, opening the gates to Cooper’s promising longevity in the music scene.
This album has one single that has been circulating the web, “Adrift.” Cooper’s tasteful placement of somber, jazz-influenced vocals provided by Kathrin deBoer and grand piano chords on top of an inextricably tangled beat heralds the emotional tone he seeks to express.
It starts slow, giving off a The Antlers vibe, but slowly fades as he unleashes the Kid A-inspired beat that drives the song. This complex amalgamation of soulful, tear-jerking vocals and strings over extremely difficult computer-made beats separates Cooper from the rest in his class.
Other highlight tracks include the more dance-centric, hypnotizing “Automaton,” the tranquil, yet adventurous album introduction “Woven Ancestry,” and the therapeutic, synth-driven “Supine.”
Cooper weaves in and out of styles, pacing throughout the album. In “Numb” he explores dark pop and thumping bass, and then immediately after that song starts “Impacts,” an avant-garde, startling 808-drum powered song. He shows his production strength by diving into challenging, sometimes opposite sounds and somehow ties them back to the entire album’s overall tone.
Human should be heard from start to finish on the first listen. Each song picks up where the last left off, adding and subtracting different styles and sounds in the process.
The album feels like a masterpiece of dedicated, scrupulous work that can easily be overlooked, but in actuality has the complexity of the sciences Cooper rigorously studied before pursuing music.
Rating: A
