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**The Family Tree: The Branches - A Haunting Folk Opera That Defines Radical Face's Ambitious Vision**

Ben Cooper has always been a storyteller first, musician second. Under the moniker Radical Face, the Florida-born artist has spent over a decade crafting intimate folk narratives that feel like whispered secrets from another century. But nowhere is this more evident than in "The Family Tree: The Branches," the second installment of his ambitious trilogy that stands as both his most cohesive work and a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling.

To understand "The Branches," you need to trace back to Cooper's breakthrough with "Ghost," released in 2007. That album introduced the world to the fictional Northcote family through sparse, haunting compositions that felt like seances conducted in dusty attics. Songs like "Welcome Home" became indie folk anthems, with Cooper's fragile falsetto floating over fingerpicked guitars and creaking floorboards. "Ghost" established the template: deeply personal yet universal tales wrapped in production so intimate you could hear every breath and string squeak.

The success of "Ghost" allowed Cooper to dream bigger, leading to 2011's "The Family Tree: The Roots," the trilogy's opening chapter. Where "Ghost" felt like discovered artifacts, "The Roots" was deliberately cinematic, expanding the Northcote mythology with richer instrumentation and more complex narratives. It was here that Cooper's vision truly crystallized—this wouldn't just be a collection of albums, but a multi-generational saga told through folk songs that doubled as historical documents.

Which brings us to 2016's "The Branches," the trilogy's emotional centerpiece and Cooper's finest achievement. If "The Roots" planted seeds, "The Branches" watches them grow into something magnificent and terrible. The album chronicles the Northcote family's expansion and eventual fracturing, with each song serving as both standalone composition and crucial narrative thread.

Musically, Cooper has never sounded more confident. The production retains that signature intimacy—you can still hear every finger slide and vocal intake—but the arrangements have grown more sophisticated. Banjos weave through melancholy piano lines while subtle strings add emotional weight without overwhelming the delicate foundations. It's folk music that understands the power of space and silence.

"Holy Branches" opens the album like a prayer, Cooper's voice multitracked into a ghostly choir over minimal acoustic guitar. It's a mission statement that immediately establishes the album's themes of family legacy and inherited trauma. "Severus and Stone" follows with one of Cooper's most compelling character studies, a meditation on a family patriarch that manages to be both specific and archetypal.

The album's emotional peak comes with "The Ship in a Bottle," a devastating portrait of isolation that showcases Cooper's gift for finding profound meaning in simple imagery. His voice cracks with genuine emotion as he sings about being "trapped inside this tiny world," the metaphor of the title becoming increasingly powerful with each repetition. It's the kind of song that stops you mid-step and demands your full attention.

"Wrapped in Piano Strings" demonstrates Cooper's range, building from whispered confessions to soaring choruses that feel like emotional releases after albums of bottled-up feelings. Meanwhile, "Names" serves as the album's thesis statement, exploring how identity passes through generations like genetic material, sometimes blessing and sometimes cursing those who inherit it.

What makes "The Branches" special isn't just the individual songs, but how they function as a complete work. This is a proper album in an era of playlists, demanding to be experienced from start to finish. Cooper has created something increasingly rare: a concept album that never feels conceptual, where the overarching narrative enhances rather than constrains the individual songs.

In the years since "The Branches," Cooper has continued expanding the Radical Face universe while also pursuing other projects, including the more electronic-leaning Electric President. But "The Branches" remains his creative peak, the album where his ambitions and abilities perfectly aligned.

The influence of this trilogy, and "The Branches" in particular, can be heard throughout contemporary indie folk. Cooper proved that concept albums didn't have to be pretentious, that intimate production could serve epic narratives, and that fictional characters could feel more real than most autobiographical songs.

"The Family Tree: The Branches" stands as a testament to the power of sustained artistic vision. In an age of shortened attention spans, Cooper created something that rewards patience and repeated listening, an album that reveals new details with each encounter. It's folk music for the digital age