John Diliberto of the nationally syndicated radio show Echoes has reviewed the new Projekt holiday compilation CD, Ornamental. Entitled “It’s Christmas. Projekt Gets Ornamental,” reads in part:

There are a lot of post-Cocteau Twins shoegazer ruminations on the album.  Autumn’s Grey Solace … Ashkelon Sain & the Dorian Fields… Unto Ashes… LoveSpirals, who had a couple of my favorite Excelsis songs, (“Welcome Christmas” in their Love Spirals Downwards edition and “Aspen Glow” as LoveSpirals) return with another evocative seasonal song, an original called “Happy Holidays” featuring Anji Bee, who sings it with sophisticated élan,  like she’s casting knowing glances over her shoulder against Ryan Lum’s chiming guitars.

I’ve been begging for musicians to create a different kind of seasonal music besides the rote rendering of the same 25 or so holiday chestnuts over-roasted on an open fire.  Projekt has been fulfilling that since 1995 with Excelsis.  Ornamental takes them in a slightly less gothic and doom-laden mode and makes it a likely pick for the best seasonal CD of 2012, if your tastes in seasonal music heads towards the abyss.

The review, featured in the Program Highlights section of the Echoes website, also includes one of our Future Past band portraits taken by Susan Jennings — a nice surprise!

You can pick up a copy of the 2-CD holiday collection, Ornamental, from Projekt Records.