Admittingly, I used to be a huge 4AD fan. I would pick up almost any album I saw, simply because it had the 4AD name. After awhile, though, I kind of lost touch with the label. One of the artists I still managed to hear about was Lisa Germano. After a stint as a back-up musician for John Mellencamp, she burst onto the scene with her first two albums, Happiness and Geek The Girl. I've only heard bits of her first two discs, but for the most part, I think that she continues her trend on her third release.

The album's influences range from folk to country to rock and back again, but Germano manages to keep every song sounding fresh. Her vocals range from sweet ("Baby on the Plane") to snide ("I Love A Snot"). With the help of about 10 different musicians, the album also manages quite an assortment of interesting instrumentation. Plus, it's hard not to like an album with a song by the name of, "Beautiful Schizophrenic." Even though it isn't as worldly sounding as Dead Can Dance or as ethereal as the Cocteau Twins, Excerts From A Love Circus is a great offering on the label, as well as another strong album from Germano.