Customer Reviews

Radical Face: Ghost

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If at age 24, Ben Cooper (Radical Face) can record an album as subtlely beautiful as "Ghost", admittedly a concept album four years in the making, what will be his next endeavor to keep what is hopefully an expanding fanbase captivated?

"Asleep On a Train" opens this album instrumentally. It's a beautiful mood piece that only hints at the treasure chest that's about to descend on your tympanic membrane. Then, Ben puts it all out there. Cut #2 "Welcome Home, Son" is unquestioningly the best song I've heard for 2007. Sufjan Stevens would be jealous of the sheer melody and layering of this masterpiece. Buy the album for this song alone.

I could spend the rest of my evening gushing over this album and telling you how fabulous every single cut is. But you don't know me so why are you reading this? Instead, sample each cut on this album. Every one is a masterpiece, but I personally especially like "Glory", "Winter Is Coming", and "Wrapped In Piano Strings". I've listened to this CD no less than 25 times and every time I listen, I discover new territory and it moves even more solidly into the category of my all-time favorite recordings.

LISTEN!!!

The name is Ben Cooper, a 24 year old composer from Jacksonville, Florida, who is the creative mastermind behind Electric President and Radical Face.

Ghost is a set of layered songs full of inticate details that need to be taken as a whole to be fully appreciated. I notice new nuances with each listen. Highlights include the bass drum rocky beat of "Winter is Coming", the hand slapping "Welcome Home Son", and the marching feet with piano of "Glory".

This is a long way from punk rock. If you like the gentler sounds of artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Sun Kil Moon, Air, or perhaps even the Eels and Arcade Fire then Cooper's magic will likely appeal to you. If you can appreciate good music that grows on you with every listen until it enters your soul - buy this cd! It would be a disaster of the worst kind if Radical Face fails to find its audience.

This is an amazing album, textural, layered, beautiful, hypnotic at points... truly a masterpiece... all of this at the age of 24. If you are not a fan of Elliot Smith or Sufjan Stevens do NOT let the prior reviews scare you away. I am definitely NOT a fan of either of those artists and I love Radical Face. I come from the MORR music camp of bands like Isan, Mum, Tarwater, Styrofoam, etc. and I stumbled across Radical Face via that avenue and was not disappointed. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

I'm writing this with something of a sense of bemusement that it appeared in precisely zero end-of-year round-ups. Has my sense of taste deserted me? My ears tell me that this is a record of beauty, of tiny details, delicate songs and precious surprises, but apparently I'm imagining it.

It's possible. Maybe I tend towards the twee, the slight - choirboy vocals and vague (overworked) poetry like this. That and Venetian Snares.

Here's an unbroken law of records: no track with handclaps is rubbish, ever. So it has to be a good sign that this one is loaded with the things: rushing flamenco-style handclaps on "Glory", martial slapping on "Welcome Home", both of which have swooping chorus's worthy of Paul Simon. It works well with the acoustic feel of the production - warm strings, guitars, creaks and pops, clearly tied together with lashings of digital glue.

There's quite a few slow atmospheric interstitial tracks, but it's a (shudder) *concept* album (about an old house, apparently), so that's to be expected. Which also explains the togetherness of the collection that lends itself to a seamless and enveloping listening experience.

It would all slip by all too smoothly to stick if it wasn't for things like "Wrapped in Piano Strings" sitting in the middle: a lovely, lovely thing. I love Ben's episodic songwriting - as if he had too many melodic ideas to simply do verse-chorus-verse-chorus, but when it works, it's adorable, darting from point to point and returning home with a sigh.

I guess this didn't find a huge audience, but I really do recommend it. It gives back. I guess I still listen to records because I want something to adore.

There are few words that can express the potency of this album. It is so purely aesthetic, so beautiful.... Go ahead, sample all of the tracks, but you should know that they barely hint at the layers of beauty and intricacy present in *every* track.

I bought this album after noticing how many times I'd played "Welcome Home" here: http://radicalface.com/radicalface.html There are at least three tracks that are worth the full price of the album!

When I'm playing music on shuffle and one of the tracks from Radical Face comes on, I have to stop what I'm doing for a moment as the music washes over me, it is so...beautiful!

But, as another reviewer so aptly pointed out, why are you reading this? You don't even know me--go sample all the tracks, then BUY this album (it's worth far far more than is being charged) and LISTEN to it. You want to have these songs in your memory and your music collection and your heart.

Ben Cooper deserves some recognition!

If you like Elliot Smith or Sufjan Stevens this album is for you. Simple, effective music, pin-point lyrics, and just a wonderful charm.

I'd also recommend "Electric President" as well.

It's exceedingly wonderful in ways you've wanted music to be for a long time. I heard a leak of this album last month, and I'm buying it in the next 30 seconds.

I am pretty specific with the way I set up my Pandora stations and one day it pumped out none other than.... This guy...

And I am extremely glad it did... I got this album as a blind guess that by hearing "Welcome Home" that the rest of the album must be good...

Ben Cooper takes you on a ride through old forgotten memories of places that never were... it gives you a feeling that he has actually heard stories from old Ghosts that live in old wooden houses with slats in the walls instead of studs...

The album is one of those where, yes virtually every song is amazing, but if you get a chance and you want an epic music experience. Slap on a pair of great head phones and listen to the whole thing through the song arangement, flow, and production all together is just something else. Ben Cooper is seriously a very talented guy and I love his care free attitude about his music... he is in it because its fun, he loves it, and his "studio" (shed behind his house) is where he likes to spend his time... That fact is very obvious and comes out through his every note and random sample that he has assembled here...

Enjoy... because Ghost will haunt your heart with a new love if you've never heard Cooper before...

Splendid! no problems what so ever, arrived when it should have. no problems with the product, looks to be in perfect condition.

album was accidently posted for only $16.00, which i jumped all over, then immediately changed to $150.00 the next day, im very pleased with my purchase!