Calling Anna Domino fans

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One of the cooler LTM reissue series of the past year was the Anna Domino one, and while I had vaguely heard the name in the past I never heard her work much -- and now that I have I'm pretty well convinced that she's among the better candidates for a lost artist of the eighties than most. LTM has put out a solid single-disc overview called Dreamback that I recommend.

Her sound, I'd say, is intentionally hard to pin down -- she's one of those folks who has a beautiful voice that she uses as she wishes to whatever style or approach she'd want to do at the time. So for her debut EP East and West she was withdrawn a bit into very postpunk-in-a-Factory-sense sounds, her mid-decade debut album was much more playful, running parallel to Everything But the Girl, and by the time of her last full release under her name, Mysteries of America, she had created this really lovely, almost unexpected masterpiece of involving experimentation that makes me think in ways of both Kate Bush and Tim Buckley, in parallel intent if not sound -- like she had an even broader palette to work with than before and did so, finding some form of cosmic music while still creating marvellous, focused songs like "Bonds of Love." And that's not to mention the 1988 EP Colouring in the Edge and the Outline which has her best ever song on it, "88."

Also, great ear for covers over the years: Aretha Franklin's "Land of My Dreams," Jesse Winchester's "Isn't That So," Smokey's "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game" and Merle Travis's "Sixteen Tons."

So, any other fans? Detractors? Etc.?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 2 January 2005 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

fuck me... i've just looked at the LTM site, and Niceboy is gonna release the entire Field Mice catalogue on 3 cd's - including 3 unreleased tracks..

(sorry to highjack your thread Ned)

― Jack Battery-Pack (Jack Battery-Pack), Sunday, 2 January 2005 22:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Heheh. Quite understood. I'm looking forward to those myself.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 2 January 2005 22:28 (twenty-one years ago)

i found the few tracks i've heard by her to be totally unremarkable. i saw her open for magnetic fields some years ago (she was part of some band) and it too was totally unremarkable.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 2 January 2005 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

She's no Virginia Astley! Sorry, apples & oranges. Wait, I have to replace my double disc Field Mice comp now? What if I refuse?

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 2 January 2005 23:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I was a big Anna Domino fan. Got her records free by sharing a publicist with her. I remember '16 Tons' sounding very radical at the time, so dry and cool.

― Momus (Momus), Sunday, 2 January 2005 23:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Ned you do know there's a Snakefarm song on The Rose & the Briar compilation, and that Domino has a piece in the book of the same name, right?

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Sunday, 2 January 2005 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Does she now? I am glad to hear of it. Apparently Snakefarm only did the one full album some years back, alas.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 3 January 2005 00:06 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, it was snakefarm that i saw. at that time--i think a few years after the rerelease of the "harry smith anthology" and all the attendant publicity--a lot of people were doing revisions of "old folk ballads" and in that context her shtick (sp?) seemed a little obvious and not very revelatory. she didn't take the ballads anywhere interesting IMO.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 3 January 2005 00:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I've always wanted to check her out. Scott's right about Virginia Astley being quite lovely (even though she's turned into a running joke on rateyourmusic.com because of this absolutely obsessed fan who harped on and on about "artistes"...and she doesn't deserve to be the butt of a joke).

― Ian Moraine (Eastern Mantra), Monday, 3 January 2005 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

the S-farm song on the comp is a new one. well, not really--it's a cover of an old ballad. the book is about ballads, too; Greil Marcus and Sean Wilentz (from Princeton, I think) edited it. Domino writes about "Ommie Wise."

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 3 January 2005 03:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Judy Henske's version of Ommie Wise, "Ballad Of Little Romy" is great. It's on her debut. Also great is her live explanation of the song which ends with "and then he beat her to death and threw her in the river!".

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 3 January 2005 03:19 (twenty-one years ago)

i need to hear this Ned. I've an old disc du crepsule single which i've just been listening to a bit lately and lovong. the song 'repeating' is a wonderful thing.

― bulbs (bulbs), Monday, 3 January 2005 05:13 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

Oh why didn't I see this thread? Anna is indeed one of the best kept secrets of the 80s/90's and I reckon her best stuff is up there with anyone's finest. I guess the cool pop side of Factory/Crepuscule (Anna, Antena, Cath Carroll, Swamp Children etc) never got as much attention as the long mac brigade back in the day, which is a shame.

I second Ned's recommendation of Dreamback - the best of AD. It's faultless, utterly beautiful and perfect from beginning to end. I can't fault the track selection. Subtle hooks and imaginative touches everywhere, any track could have been a hit, should have been a hit. Where to Start : 'Tempting' is 'Live To Tell' via Abba, 'Take That' *is* a lost Madonna single circa 'Borderline', 'Luck' and 'Time For Us' stalk the city clubs with the ghosts of Vince Clarke and The Pet Shop Boys in tow.

Anyway, get it. Then get Mysteries Of America/Colouring In The Edge And The Outline, then This Time. Then the rest.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

Antena

I just got *those* reissues now! And the second Kalima album. It really is neat seeing all this side of those labels after never hearing much about them before.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 17:22 (twenty years ago)

It's just us Ned.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 10 March 2005 10:15 (twenty years ago)

no, i just ordered the first anna domino album yesterday because i figured it's time. i already have the coloring in the edges and the outline ep and i like that. i also got quando quango and, um... the second section 25 album.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Thursday, 10 March 2005 10:40 (twenty years ago)

let us know your thoughts on QQ and Key of Dreams as soon as you've digested them!

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 10 March 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

I've been pratically listening to AD non-stop for the last month and I have to say that ultimately "East and West" is my fave (maybe due to the heavy Tuxedomoon presence/influence). Anyway, she's completely classic.

― baaderonixx, Monday, 7 January 2008 11:12 (eighteen years ago)

four years pass...

Cool interview with her: http://fixemag.org/page/5

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 4 December 2012 07:17 (thirteen years ago)

Indeed!

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 4 December 2012 14:38 (thirteen years ago)

eight years pass...

A totally random Spotify pick from someone I'd never heard of before, but how lovely is this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIwel-9KKjs

― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 5 October 2021 13:15 (four years ago)

three years pass...

Drunk came up on shuffle and I ended up listening to the debut in full for the first time in years. Sounded even better than I remembered. Utterly timeless

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Sunday, 27 July 2025 21:30 (six months ago)

I really love the song "Caught", what a cool weird vibe with that icy synth melody. Rest of that album didn't do it for me but this thread's got me curious. I'm going to do a deeper dive.

― OneSecondBefore, Monday, 28 July 2025 03:44 (six months ago)

Woah, the second half of that Dreamback compilation is incredible... Every track is genius. I'm now listening to Colouring in the Edge and the Outline and loving it. Turns out I just needed to hear her later stuff.

― OneSecondBefore, Thursday, 31 July 2025 03:52 (six months ago)

three weeks pass...

I've been loving Mysteries of America and Colouring in the Edge and the Outline. I noticed that the vocals on the latter EP sound kind of jacked up, but I don't have the terminology to express exactly how -- Overcompressed maybe? Her sibilants are hissy. It's a shame because this music is amazing.

I noticed that Mysteries of America got a few different remasters, and many of them have Colouring in the Edge and the Outline on them as bonus tracks. I thought, "maybe one of these fixed the vocals on those tracks". But I listened to every remaster (including importing a Japanese release from 2013 that had its own separate remaster), but those vocals still sound rough on all of them. Maybe it was a problem with the original recording, or maybe these remasters didn't touch the bonus tracks. Oh well.

The track "Tyranny (Of Your Company)" has total Another Green World style Fripp-style guitars on it, but I didn't see Fripp credited anywhere. Guess she got a convincing imitator. It's a cool addition to her sound.

― OneSecondBefore, Sunday, 24 August 2025 16:22 (five months ago)

Inspired by the revive above, I relistened to Dreamback and have now had ‘Rythm’ stuck in my head for a month. I find her voice very sexy, which is actually not a quality I often ascribe to singers.

― Vast Halo, Tuesday, 26 August 2025 18:55 (five months ago)

Wow, her debut is featured as pitchfork’s Sunday review. Someone reading this thread?

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Monday, 8 September 2025 05:44 (five months ago)

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