Radical Face

Hello world.

Radical Face is the solo project of Florida based Ben Cooper and his music is 100% delightful. The music elegantly balances its levels of folksyosity and experimentalism without overdoing either, resulting an airy, majestic, and uniquely haunting feel. Think the Shins get super friendly with The Postal Service, except less electric. (If you want to hear a band that largely resembles Radical Face, but is extremely electric, check out one of Ben Cooper's other projects, Electric President.)

Songs to start with:

• Welcome Home, Son (Ghost -2007)
• Wrapped In Piano Strings (Ghost -2007)
• Glory (Ghost -2007)

"Welcome Home, Son" should leave you with the sensation that your life has become the intro to the movie "Garden State"

...In a good way.

Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/radicalface

He doesn't have all the songs up but you can find the rest on Lala.com

David

P.S.

Words in bold may OR may not exist.

Song: Carrying You (from Laputa: Castle in the Sky)

When watching the movie Princess Mononoke two weeks ago, I was reminded of the existence of this wonderful song. More specifically, a beautiful cover of this song by a violin and piano. It is part of the album World of Hayao Miyazaki (Piano and Violin Duo) by Yuka. As far as I know, it is only sold in Japan and iTunes Australia, but another great cover of this song is part of the album Piano de Ghibli which has a slightly jazzy feel and is offered in iTunes US (and probably other places if you look for it).

That being said, you can listen to the original song here on Youtube.

Artist: bikelock

Jay McMillan and Bob Anderson may or may not be known more for their contributions to Andrew McMahon's solo project, Jack's Mannequin; their duo project, bikelock, brings their musical talents to the foreground. Bobby's notable vocals and guitar playing combined with Jay's smooth drumming makes bikelock a pleasure to listen to.

Here are several songs to get started with:
1. Jennifer, I'm Going to Kill You (don't get fooled by the title; steady, percussive guitar and flowing drums and vocals)
2. Olive (beautiful, yearning sounds)
3. Low Wound (one of their more punk sounding songs)

Currently, their songs are available for purchase on only their website, but most of their songs are available for listening on their myspace.