Transgender singer-songwriter Baby Dee has a rich, captivating, otherworldly voice. It soars majestically over mournful, sustained piano chords in "Safe Inside the Day" before retreating and returning, boldly and forcefully.
Baby Dee's resume includes stints as a harpist, a street musician and a sideshow performer, but it seems as if she'd be most comfortable in a world of her own creation, singing vaudeville. Bringing to mind Antony Hegarty of Anthony and the Johnsons, her voice is a force of nature, marked by dramatic outbursts and an unmistakable air of tragedy.
A quiet violin and other voices compete for attention in "Safe Inside the Day," but Baby Dee commands all the attention here. Exuding vulnerability, she sings, "If I can remain where I will stay / I will live another day," enunciating with enthusiasm. When she repeats, "I will live another day," she sounds comfortingly — and a bit surprisingly — at peace.
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