"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!!!
"
Ben Cooper Outdid Himself
B. Bowles | Chicago, IL USA | 05/12/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
A hauntingly beautiful masterpiece.
Weed of the North | 03/17/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Greatest Misses
R. Lister | Palo Alto, CA United States | 01/08/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"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."