Following the harrowing vulnerability of Geek the Girl, Lisa Germano’s follow-up was the decidedly more welcoming Excerpts from a Love Circus, released by 4AD in September 1996. Like its title suggests, Love Circus chronicles the emotional roller coaster of a relationship, and deepened Lisa’s reputation for creating emotionally complex, genre-defying music and her penchant for sarcasm. The album introduced a dreamier and more playful sound, though the sorrow and surrealism remained intact. True to its name, the entire album has carnival-like quality to it; it’s rich in texture, with whispered vocals, toy piano, layered violin, and field recordings—complete with contributions from her cats Dorothy and Miamo-Tutti, who provide meows and purrs (and are deservedly credited as performers.). "As the music started to be funny, started to have a carnival feel I thought 'Oh, this is a Love Circus, it's all stupid it's all ridiculous'. And 'Excerpts' means that there are many, many more ridiculous situations". Love Circus is an album that exists in its own strange, personal universe, but is quintessentially a Lisa Germano record from start to finish. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.