#1
Poor Little Cow
Lisa Germano’s second album is a fully-realised collection of songs combining her hypnotic, ethereal alt-rock and her brooding piano ballads with a vast mixture of styles and experiments. This album delivers all the early promise she had shown on her On The Way Down From The Moon Palace LP (1991). It was released in 1993 and then again in remastered form in 1999 by 4AD with some bonus material.
For the uninitiated, Germano was a violinist for artists such as John Mellancamp in her twenties. She suppressed her multi-instrumental abilities until she decided to go it alone in her thirties. She writes complicated songs with cryptic lyrics, shifting melodies and difficult structures that make them hard to access and fully embrace. Those who choose to do so, however are opening themselves up to a world of personal, intense, emotional and exciting music.
Happiness is no light affair. The whole album is tainted with a post-song pre-song sonic assault that makes it as simultaneously infuriating as it is tremendous. There are short, jagged folk-pop songs here, combined with a plethora of dark and complex experiments. It is all wrapped up in Germano’s self-deprecating humour.
The album is charming and ambitious. Germano likes to decorate her songs with plenty of otherworldly instrumentation, although this album is more firmly rooted in mid-nineties alt-rock at times and showcases more of the sound of a wonderful talent finding her feet with a heterogeneity of styles, ranging from world music to straightforward displays of her violin skills.
Malcolm Burn helped produce this album and no doubt helped contribute to its at times oppressive, at times vulnerable but always fluent sound. Most of Germano’s albums are rife with a lingering melancholy, and this one is no exception, although few of her releases are as playful and melodramatic as this. The 4AD re-release includes the Inconsiderate Bitch EP which takes some of the songs from this album and tweaks them a tad.
Poor Little CowLisa Germano’s second album is a fully-realised collection of songs combining her hypnotic, ethereal alt-rock and her brooding piano ballads with a vast mixture of styles and experiments. This album delivers all the early promise she had shown on her On The Way Down From The Moon Palace LP (1991). It was released in 1993 and then again in remastered form in 1999 by 4AD with some bonus material.
For the uninitiated, Germano was a violinist for artists such as John Mellancamp in her twenties. She suppressed her multi-instrumental abilities until she decided to go it alone in her thirties. She writes complicated songs with cryptic lyrics, shifting melodies and difficult structures that make them hard to access and fully embrace. Those who choose to do so, however are opening themselves up to a world of personal, intense, emotional and exciting music.
Happiness is no light affair. The whole album is tainted with a post-song pre-song sonic assault that makes it as simultaneously infuriating as it is tremendous. There are short, jagged folk-pop songs here, combined with a plethora of dark and complex experiments. It is all wrapped up in Germano’s self-deprecating humour.
The album is charming and ambitious. Germano likes to decorate her songs with plenty of otherworldly instrumentation, although this album is more firmly rooted in mid-nineties alt-rock at times and showcases more of the sound of a wonderful talent finding her feet with a heterogeneity of styles, ranging from world music to straightforward displays of her violin skills.
Malcolm Burn helped produce this album and no doubt helped contribute to its at times oppressive, at times vulnerable but always fluent sound. Most of Germano’s albums are rife with a lingering melancholy, and this one is no exception, although few of her releases are as playful and melodramatic as this. The 4AD re-release includes the Inconsiderate Bitch EP which takes some of the songs from this album and tweaks them a tad.
1. Bad Attitude (6:11)
This opens with some eerily shimmering guitars, almost funereal in sound, but is a touch too clinical to arouse any emotion. Germano is a fan of this sort of instrumental introduction, and the song begins properly after about a minute and a half of this. With some lightly jangling guitars and surreptitious piano backing her she sings: “You wish it was sunny, but it’s not, ha ha… the sun will come out the day after tomorrow, ha ha,” which captures her off-kilter humour.
This humour is of the dark kind, of course. It is subtle, but actually rather comforting given the traumatic nature of much of her music. The drumming from Ronald Jones is minimal throughout, providing a nice backing beat and Germano gets ample scope for scraping out a tune on her violin. Much of Germano’s music draws from her own personal unhappiness and this is a simple track about being stuck and not knowing how to change, and her lyrics are as usual very personal (see Betty, the real name of Germano’s mother).
“You could start over, it’s never too late, that’s what Betty says… whatever happened to your sense of humour?” Lots of her songs settle into a pleasant groove and remain there so she can deliver her verses, but this track slinks towards a dreamy, distant climax that ponders lost childhood innocence with a plaintive yearning and establishes the ethereal, melancholy tone for the rest of the album.
2. Destroy the Flower (3:12)
The light, jangling guitar, playing comfortably along with Germano’s waiflike and slightly childish voice, dominates this, but it is the piano countermelody that provides most of the dramatic clout. This is a overly hysterical track with a whiny but powerful chorus: “He’ll never come out now, and it’s all your fault… this goes on and on because you didn’t change it.” A nice, short and punchy track shot through with confusion and sorrow. Lovely.
3. Puppet (6:01)
One of the complaints I have about this almost flawless record is that occasionally the tracks are introduced or rounded off by some loud, aggressive growling from the guitar, and this is the first of said songs.
A big grumble that suggests Germano is about to explode into some full-on hair metal begins the tune, but then she comes in with the catchy chorus of: “If I was a puppet, then we’d get along just fine.” Because there were problems with the mixing and such of this album, the superior version is to be found on the Inconsiderate Bitch EP. This version has Germano’s vocals slightly low in the mix. The music is relatively upbeat sounding and is among the sunniest songs on the album, with some fine lyrics throughout.
It is refreshing to hear a more sedate sounding Germano, as her following albums such as 1998’s Slide set a far darker tone for her latter-day career. Much of the textural richness here would be sacrificed for a more insular sound.
4. Everyone’s Victim (4:44)
This keeps up the pace of the album, with a discordant violin, heavy bass line and thunderous drums creating the panicky sound this tune thrives on. Germano is in full dramatic form here, her lyrics delivered like someone terrified out of her wits at one minute, then sounding relatively relaxed the next minute.
Some exciting twists on the guitar, the occasional twang of a mandolin and a constant rising effect in the background make this a packed and melodically rich track. Some vocal effects are also thrown into the mix and one wonders whether this track will ever come a conclusion or if it wants to at all. Bill Dillon provides the loud bass work here, and the manual claims that Germano added the other flourishes to the song as well. Another winner, and another reasonably upbeat track.
5. Energy (3:50)
This follows on from Puppet as the track that could have made a very good single if people were interested in her work. “I have to ask you what’s your problem… I don’t believe that you love anyone,” Germano complains over layers of jangling acoustic guitars and scraping violins. The chorus is again her strong suit here. This song is a jaunty little dance, incorporating a very distorted sounding electric guitar solo with Germano’s pleas for attention.
6. Cowboy (4:07)
“I love my little cowboy, when he’s rough, I’m happy,” Germano sings a little too earnestly in this delicate and decidedly off-kilter acoustic ballad. Her declarations of happiness are so strained here, it is difficult to tell if she is being genuine or not. Some pedal steel guitar is played by John Keane, and some country-sounding warbles in the background add a nice touch, as does the whistling before the final chorus. Her final lyric of: “I know what I’m doing,” is a little frightening and it is that ambiguity makes this song a very curious and touching one indeed.
7. Happiness (3:42)
A darker piece of pop here, this has a plodding and low bass line with some odd and rather self-flagellating lyrics. Germano describes herself as an “inconsiderate bitch” and this description makes up the very catchy chorus. The melody on this track is just indelibly infectious and that makes her sarcastic and sniping lyrics such as: “Give it up, try again, give it up, try again… ain’t life fun?” all the more satisfying.
Like a baby kicking and screaming just for the fun of it, Germano is casting a self-deprecating eye over many of her own behavioural dysfunctions. More of these amusing lyrics would have been welcome as lots of her stuff is blatantly humourless. Another very infectious tune, Germano wouldn’t make music like this ever again. Her intentions would get all the more serious throughout the rest of her recording career.
8. The Earth (2:44)
This foreshadows the visceral sound of her later work with its darkness and repeated pleas. “Enough… enough… how much can I accept?” she repeats here as the light acoustic guitar plays a repetitive melody over dreamy chimes and plonks. The violin comes in for the second half, increasing the intensity of the song due to Germano’s flawless playing.
9. Around The World (4:26)
Perhaps the most difficult track to embrace on the album at first, after its awkward percussion and odd keyboard effects, it is lifted via the ethereal choruses and Germano’s poignant lyrics. “What a waste to feel the way I feel, when happiness is just around the corner and I could have it,” she sings as the song lifts itself up from its original murkiness to become quite a rousing track. The rhythm and melody initially seem more borrowed from world music at first, but Germano imbues it with her own unique sound soon enough and it grows into a very warm piece of music indeed.
10. Sycophant (4:25)
Some more overt self-loathing follows that upbeat number and the tone gets back into the dark territory. “What do you want me to do now, how do you want me to be for you?” she asks over some thumping drums and downbeat violins. This is mostly an instrumental piece, as Germano hasn’t written any verses of note here, but you feel that you get the point from what she’s leaving out rather than what she’s leaving in.
11. Miamo-Tutti (1:57)
A gentle little piano lullaby for Germano’s now deceased cat, Germano’s piano balladry would become far more impressive on later albums. This is over after a minute and twenty seconds, and is followed by some odd humming interspersed with fuzzy sounds from track seven.
12. The Dresses Song (3:39)
This track utilises Germano’s violin playing more effectively and the subject matter is open for interpretation. “Wide wide open spaces, you make me wanna wear dresses,” she sings, which perhaps suggests finding confidence through someone else and overcoming one’s repressions and fears. Another very distinct song burning with a yearning and a positive undercurrent.
13. The Darkest Night of All (4:44)
Germano’s piano balladry would improve, but she does quite an effective job with this ethereal closer to the album which rounds off the record with a plaintive sigh. Her whispery, breathy utterances of “goodnight” over the eerie effects behind her are far from reassuring. This sort of sound would dominate her bleak follow-up album Geek the Girl, and the sound would expand into a more plaintive and insular soundscape which would be as smothering as it was powerful.
Inconsiderate Bitch EP (17:25)
This was added as a generous addendum by 4AD and the only tracks that actually sound different are Puppet, as the sound is clearer and the layers of overdubbed guitar have been taken away, creating a fresher and more tolerable sound. The version of Sycophant has a longer introduction with over a minute of loud, distorted guitar. Germano has stripped away all of the drums and loud instrumentation to concentrate on creating an emptier, barren mixture of random sounds and lyrics.
This is an odd move, as nothing really happens for its over five minute duration and the song seems to have been left empty and airy, with no real purpose to it. The Dresses Song, here re-titled Late Night (Dresses) is just mixed differently, as is the version of Energy. A touch unnecessary, as it sort of weighs down the record. But bonus material is bonus material, and we should be thankful.
All in all, Germano is a mixed taste, and this will only really appeal to fans of her more powerful works such as Geek the Girl or Slide. These tracks capture Germano at her most ebullient and experimental, and I recommend this merely for fans of undiscovered female artists with a unique voice. Although this isn’t her strongest album, it does display her prodigious songwriting talents at their early peak before they became more focused and insular.
Rating: 9/10
A gentle little piano lullaby for Germano’s now deceased cat, Germano’s piano balladry would become far more impressive on later albums. This is over after a minute and twenty seconds, and is followed by some odd humming interspersed with fuzzy sounds from track seven.
12. The Dresses Song (3:39)
This track utilises Germano’s violin playing more effectively and the subject matter is open for interpretation. “Wide wide open spaces, you make me wanna wear dresses,” she sings, which perhaps suggests finding confidence through someone else and overcoming one’s repressions and fears. Another very distinct song burning with a yearning and a positive undercurrent.
13. The Darkest Night of All (4:44)
Germano’s piano balladry would improve, but she does quite an effective job with this ethereal closer to the album which rounds off the record with a plaintive sigh. Her whispery, breathy utterances of “goodnight” over the eerie effects behind her are far from reassuring. This sort of sound would dominate her bleak follow-up album Geek the Girl, and the sound would expand into a more plaintive and insular soundscape which would be as smothering as it was powerful.
Inconsiderate Bitch EP (17:25)
This was added as a generous addendum by 4AD and the only tracks that actually sound different are Puppet, as the sound is clearer and the layers of overdubbed guitar have been taken away, creating a fresher and more tolerable sound. The version of Sycophant has a longer introduction with over a minute of loud, distorted guitar. Germano has stripped away all of the drums and loud instrumentation to concentrate on creating an emptier, barren mixture of random sounds and lyrics.
This is an odd move, as nothing really happens for its over five minute duration and the song seems to have been left empty and airy, with no real purpose to it. The Dresses Song, here re-titled Late Night (Dresses) is just mixed differently, as is the version of Energy. A touch unnecessary, as it sort of weighs down the record. But bonus material is bonus material, and we should be thankful.
All in all, Germano is a mixed taste, and this will only really appeal to fans of her more powerful works such as Geek the Girl or Slide. These tracks capture Germano at her most ebullient and experimental, and I recommend this merely for fans of undiscovered female artists with a unique voice. Although this isn’t her strongest album, it does display her prodigious songwriting talents at their early peak before they became more focused and insular.
Rating: 9/10
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