If you want to talk good value for money, Projekt’s annual samplers are the way to go. Not only does owner SAM ROSENTHAL compile highlights from the long-running label’s artist roster on Under the Weight of Light, but he also includes tracks from various friends and colleagues, acting as sort of a state-of-the-union address for gothic rock. Projekt fans already know that the label’s take on gothic music covers a lot more ground than dance club floors covered in discarded tubes of black lipstick, and UtWoL covers the spectrum. Favorites include WEEP‘s dancefloor-friendly rocker “Ever Shy,” ROME‘s lush drone “We Who Fell in Love With the Sea,” MAKARAS PEN‘s shoegaze epic “Currents” and CURTIS ELLER‘s banjo-driven folk singalong “Sugar in My Coffin.” Rosenthal opens and closes the collection with tunes from his own band BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL, and both “Sailor Boy” and a dreamy remake of 2004’s “Halo Star” are reminders of the consistently high quality of his primary vision. A good sampler should not only make you want to explore the artists represented, but it should also flow like any other album, and Under the Weight of Light scores on both fronts.
