LISA BELLA DONNA

— First review of this album —

I first knew of Lisa Bella Donna through the band EYE. Her performance on their final album Vision and Ageless Light was nothing short of amazing. Too bad the band is now gone, but that first cut on the album hints at Berlin School of electronic music, but they they were in essence a psych/prog/stoner band. At that time I thought she should record some full-on electronic albums and my wish came true. To call Lisa Bella Donna a gear nut is an understatement. Her collection of vintage gear is a sight to behold. Not to mention her interviews and postings on YouTube where she goes into great detail about her gear. She puts all this to great work recording tons of material of different styles, mostly electronic. Circuclus is nothing short of amazing and if you want to hear Berlin School at it's finest from a non-German artist, this is it! I can't think of too many American artists doing this type of music. To me, Circuclus sits with the very best from the 1970s. "Kohouték" (named after a comet) is more '80s sounding but retains that wonderful analog sound as it's clear Lisa prefers analog. "Storm-Weaver" starts of slowly with a duduk, an Armenian double-reed instrument, but then the sequencers kick in in Berlin School fashion. Then there's "Kanawha Falls, West Virginia" with this totally amazing Mellotron intro that totally blew me away! Then there's this dreamy organ part before the sequencers kick in. After the sequencers fade, it ends with the pleasant sound of windchimes. As far as I'm concerned this is simply some of the best electronic music I've heard in a long time and if you want to hear Lisa Bella Donna in her Berlin School mode, this is a great place to start. I know I shouldn't throw five stars at everything but this deserves it!