Soulwhirlingsomewhere

Please Sennd Help (Projekt)
by DJ Arcanus

The misspelled title of this album says it all. Gone are the powerful instrumentals of previous albums. Gone too are the haunting vocals, which have been replaced by a virtually monotonous alternarock voice. The lyrics have always been akin to bad Gothic poetry, but this time they are more elaborate, with longer descriptions and details from specific relationships.

The thing that usually separates Soulwhirlingsomewhere‘s sound from that of other Projekt bands is the way Michael Plaster combines beautifully-textured ethereal layers with strong melodies to create a feeling of ever-present sadness. The vocals on prior albums spoke volumes of sadness and loneliness while blending almost indistinguishably into soundscapes around them. On this album, however, the emotive instrumentals and eerie wind-like quality have been phased out in favor of whiney lyrics. These lyrics may “speak” to those who wallow in self-pity, but they’ll most likely annoy everyone else. Because Please Sennd Help concentrates on blatantly stating (rather than invoking) the feelings it wants to express, a good deal of subtlety is lost – reference the pathetically self-depreciating last track, entitled “I Give Up. Goodbye.” It gets so bad that a few of the songs sound more like easy listening or alternative. A good example of this is the song “You Stutter When You Sleep,” which sounds like a minimalistic approach to a Radiohead song, minus everything that makes Radiohead interesting. Soulwhirlingsomewhere has always produced melodramatic lyrics, but he would do far better to stick with his old formula: Dismal soundscapes with hints of hope, ghostly vocals that enhance the melodies rather than overpower them, and lyrics that say more than just “Woe is me! Look at my failed, broken self!”
(www.projekt.com)