By Tattyana Mishel
Detour | September 1993
I love the way people sound when they get a cold—so gravelly, and detached, so indifferent, so… cool. So, no wonder I keep replaying Lisa Germano’s latest release, Happiness. On this eclectic ensemble of wry love songs, the former violinist for John Mellencamp casually dishes out ironic, romantic ditties in perpetual sniffles mode. While her vulnerable little girl occasionally wanders out to play, the tone is undercut with self-mocking vocals, a taunying violin, and the alternatingly beautiful and quarreling arrangements of guitar, mandolin, and piano. It’s a strange and fascinating soul-searching sound.
Compared to Germano’s self-financed debut, On the Way Down From the Moon Palace, Happiness is a more cohesive and evenly listenable work, but with all the experimental quirks left in. Germano comes off as someone exposed to a lot of different forms of music, but not such a goddamned encyclopedic amount that is leaves her echoing a shopping list of influences. The opening chords of “Puppet” sound like acoustic Johnny Thunders, then promptly launch into something else; “Everyone’s Victim” is a grind of ’70s athemic keyboard rock with scratch and fuzz guitars. “Sycophant” has a Middle-Eastern clamor, then slides into an off-key, who-give-a-shit whistle. Lyrically, my favorite lines are on “Bad Attitude,” when Germano softly (and congestedly) coos, “You wish were happy / But you’re not / ha ha ha.” Pretty cool.
Featured Image: Lisa Germano (Photo: Pamela Springsteen)
