Gentle bard, tough husk, rather sensitive singer-songwriter
Radical Face is the moving alter-ego of Ben Cooper. He has already been very welcome in AB a few times and we recall:
As a huge fan of literary masterpieces like East of Eden and Hundred Years of Solitude himself, this American multi-musician writes collections of songs like epics.
Or to be clearer: he recounts and sings a family history and uses it to fill the likes of his The Family Tree CDs, currently a trilogy with The Roots, The Branches and The Leaves... Out here via V2.
From fiction in the 19th century to scathingly autobiographical sometimes, as Radical Face (alias Ben Cooper) didn’t exactly grow up under the most prosperous circumstances.
But the generous and versatile autodidact does manage to appeal to a large audience with his ingeniously handled innermost feelings...
..'who crafts albums like an author writes a tome, extolling subtle Southern Gothic and magic realist tales with a soundtrack of jangling guitar, layered strings, and syncopated rhythms