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Baby Dee: Peace Beyond Tragedy

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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Kathryn Yu
By day, Kathryn Yu is an Interaction Designer working for a marketing firm in New York City, toiling away at Web sites. By night, she's a freelance photographer and live-music addict. Her photography has appeared in publications like Pitchfork, Rollingstone.com, Thrillist, Gothamist, and more. She often forgets to blog at kathrynyu.com, and is also making a movie.