With Lisa Germano, the one thing you can be sure of is that you never know what her next move is going to be. Once an integral part of John Cougar Mellencamp s band ( And on violin . . . ) and a hired hand for Simple Minds (she woz only in it fur de munny), she went on to release a string of lefter-than-leftfield solo albums on 4AD that included everything from love-sweet romantic odes to scarily intense horrorfests about psychokillers. She even released a record which featured guest appearances from her pet cats.
Her latest trick is a collaboration with cult West Coast desert-rock combo, Giant Sand. Trading under the name OP8 (which may sound like a dance act but just try playing the record at a rave and see what happens!), Germano and the trio of dune-smiths recently completed their European tour in support of the album, Slush, with a rapturously-received gig in Whelan s that showed that rock n roll really is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. And we have leg

endary 4AD supremo Ivo Watts-Russell to thank for kick-starting it all.
This project was originally Ivo s idea, explains Lisa. He wanted all his artists on 4AD to record three songs with someone they ve never worked with before. And then he d put them out once a month. It was along the same lines as This Mortal Coil. But although 4AD liked what we did, they canned the project.
So we decided that both my manager and Giant Sand s manager would send the tape out and hope somebody would buy it and give us the money to make the record. We didn t get much money so we had just five more days to do the whole album. But it worked.

killer whales
Although it has yet to get a release in the US, Slush is available this side of the pond thanks to a licensing deal with the new V2 label. But while it may have been recorded in a slightly haphazard manner, it s one of those records that you have to live with for a while before it reveals itself in all its avant-garde faux-folk country psychedelia glory, as Ver Critics would have it. But beneath all its clever quirks, there is a real warmth and intimacy to be found here (see Leather , If I Think Of Love or Lisa s sadly beautiful rendition of Neil Young s Round And Round ).
Much of Slush sounds like it could have been recorded around a cosy campfire. Seeing how intense her solo output has been, was it easier for Lisa to record such a relatively laidback album?
In this situation, easier is one of those words that means just the opposite, she says. Because it s almost easier for me to be emotional and face really hard things and write about them, than it is for me to be laidback. I m just not used to letting it go.
But from a technical point of view, it was a lot looser which was great. Usually, I m guilty of worrying too much about whethser the sound s alright and so on. But working on the OP8 project has taught me that you ve just gotta have fun!
While OP8 and Giant Sand may, stylistically, be strewn on the same beach as Lambchop or Grandaddy, they re even more enthusiastic about music further afloat, as bassist/guitarist Joey Burns explains.
I ve been diving more into the South American terrain. I ve got bitten by the bug of Afro-Peruvian and Afro-Cuban music. When that stuff comes up into the States it winds up as something completely different, like acid jazz or acid Latin jazz in New York city, such as Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers. It seems like everything is taking a shift towards groove music, which is neat. I m getting bored by 4/4 time, which nearly all western music is in. I tend to enjoy more of the 6/8 or the 3/4.
But I m open to anything. I used to play jazz fusion in this aquatic centre called Marineland in the States, where I d be serenading dolphins and killer whales.
Synchronised swimming has never sounded so appealing. n
Slush is out now on Thirsty Ear/V2 Records.