Anna Domino

• East and West [Les Disques du Crépuscle, 1984] A-
• "Rythm" [Les Disques du Crepuscle, 1985] B
• Colouring in the Edge and the Outline [Giant EP, 1989] B+

Consumer Guide Reviews:

East and West [Les Disques du Crépuscle, 1984]
Fans of femme folk-new wave--Raincoats, Young Marble Giants, etc.--should check out this EP even though the artist floats her lyricism in a gentle electronic wash and doesn't appear to hail from Britannia. Me, I'm a fan of early Tom Tom Club, Velvets-era Nico, and Maureen Tucker singing "Afterhours." Hypnotic with no cosmic aspirations, she could be labeled spaced out, but in a dreamy, nicely sophisticated way. Composer of best song: Aretha Franklin. A-

"Rythm" [Les Disques du Crepuscle, 1985]
"Behind the myth lies the effort of the rhythm [rythm?]," she muses in re racial relations. But the effort of the rhythm is in the preparation and production, not necessarily the final product. I prefer the debut's dreamy melancholy, and note that the best tune is once again a cover: "Sixteen Tons." B

Colouring in the Edge and the Outline [Giant EP, 1989]
Neither of her albums has gotten to second base with me, and not because I'm unwilling--all three EPs score. Here she croons about metaphysical-sounding stuff like luck and joy over the snaky electrorhythms that in her past work were all too metaphysical themselves. And never sounds like stamina's her long suit. B+