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Lisa Germano
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Montreal Gazette | Jordan Zivitz Gorgeous, terrifying, and unlike any other music in existenceJuly 20/'06In the Maybe WorldYoung GodRating 4 1/2 out of 5Thank heaven for the voices rattling around inside Lisa Germano's head, or we might never know there is such perverse joy in torment. Self-lacerating without being self-pitying, Germano reports from the darkest corners of solitude in an emotionally wrecked whisper as seductive as any voice you'll ever hear. And while she sounds happier than usual, her caustic past provides a twisted yardstick. More lucid and stark than the shape-shifting hallucinations on 2003's astonishing Lullaby for Liquid Pig, Maybe World often sounds like it was constructed with toys from a child's treasure chest. But Red Thread's profane kiss-off chorus is only the most obvious indicator that these lullabies are for traumatized souls, not for innocents. Gorgeous, terrifying, and unlike any other music in existence....
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Lisa Germano | Review
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Philadelphia Enquirer | Steve Klinge a series of brief and often beautiful adult lullabiesJuly 24. '06In the Maybe WorldYoung God Once, Lisa Germano fiddled in John Mellencamp's band and dabbled with amusing, catchy songs such as "You Make Me Want To Wear Dresses" for her solo albums. But after flirting with the mainstream, the talented singer-songwriter/multi-instru-mentalist turned deeply inward, writing disquieting, intimate ballads about dangerous obsessions such as drugs and alcohol (2003's Lullaby for Liquid Pig) and love (1996's Excerpts from a Love Circus).In the Maybe World follows suit as it explores loss and death in a series of brief and often beautiful adult lullabies - or soundtracks to nightmares - sprinkled with allusions to fairy tales (the mirror, mirror in "Red Thread") and nursery rhymes ("Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in "Golden Cities"). Whether accompanying herself on hesitant piano, ghostly guitar or eerie violin, Germano sings in a fragile but unflinching whisper that makes In the Maybe World as spellbinding as it is unsettling....
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Lisa Germano | Review
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Boston Globe | Marc Hirsh her best material casts an entrancing spell July 21 '06IN THE MAYBE WORLDYoung GodLisa Germano has played violin with David Bowie, Sheryl Crow, and John Mellencamp -- that's her sawing away on "Paper in Fire" -- but her own material hews closer to Sam Phillips, with fragmented songs that sound like staticky, incomplete transmissions from decades ago. Her seventh solo album finds her not just cracked but shattered, childlike and world-weary at the same time. There's a downcast feel that goes beyond mere sadness into a sort of unquenchable existential ache that's most prominent in "Into Oblivion," which describes a place she yearns for, rather than a place she fears. Built around Germano's spare, somnambulant piano and guitar, the sound of "In the Maybe World" falls in shards, complete with ambient noises like the rattling of the instruments and the creaking of her piano bench. If it's hard to tell where the songs are headed; that's fine, since Germano might not know either. The electric piano/violin coda of "Moon in Hell" seems to catch her off-guard as much as the listener. It can make for some trying listening at times, and songs such as "In......
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Lisa Germano | Review
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www.digitalisindustries.com | Josh Honna beautiful and experimental monster that wouldn't harm a soul but certainly will touch more than a fewIn the Maybe WorldJuly 17/06To say that I was a bit shocked to find out Lisa Germano was releasing an album on Michael Gira's famed Young God Records imprint would be an understatement. Young God has been responsible in the past several years for introducing the world to previously relatively obscure acts like Devendra Banhart, Akron/Family and Mi and L'au. Of course, all of these acts had previous musical lives before Gira but Germano has been releasing records to critical acclaim since the 90s, most notably on the then powerhouse 4AD imprint, and has throughout her career collaborated with such luminaries as Giant Sand, Calexico, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and even non-luminary Sheryl Crow. But while Gira has a special ear for relatively new acts who then go on to bigger and better things, he has no qualms about releasing a grizzledveteran's latest album. And it is a good thing he did.Lisa Germano's "in the maybe world" is completely self-produced. From pure piano to experimental synth and subtle glitches, "in the maybe world" sounds almost like a series of happy accidents that......
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Lisa Germano | Review
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Orlando Weekly | Rob O'Connor Her albums are strictly late-night, known by word of mouth, and inhabit a world apart from the everyday grind.In The Maybe World7/13/06Lisa Germano's albums are the aural equivalent of the subterranean rock club. As a woman who's shared the recording studio and stage with John Mellencamp, David Bowie and Wendy and Lisa, she's headed underground strictly on purpose. Her albums are strictly late-night, known by word of mouth, and inhabit a world apart from the everyday grind. They're not invite-only, but you're well advised to do some homework before showing up. Otherwise, you may find yourself feeling uncomfortably out of place. Not out of any too-hip-for-the-room quotient, though; Germano wears too many of her neuroses ‹ sexual, psychic and filial, and this time out, mortal ‹ in her grooves to make any pretense toward the whims of fashion. No, you must prepare yourself because this is a world where no one greets you with a welcoming hello, where the show is already in progress and where you will have to find your own way of deciphering the plot. It's a private world in an alternate space. In the Maybe World sounds all of one piece. Its......