Baby Dee

Here’s an amazing hook: How many angel-winged, tricycle-riding, transgendered harpists have you ever heard? If the answer is none, don’t you feel cheated? You should. And you should also get out to see Baby Dee.

She’s new to us, yet somehow it seems as if she shouldn’t be. The vocalist and multi-instrumentalist is beloved in the indie-rock community, with a fan base that includes David Tibet (Current 93), Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) and Marc Almond (Soft Cell)—as well as Matt Sweeney (Zwan) and Will Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy), the coproducers of Baby Dee’s third album, Safe Inside the Day, to be released in January by Drag City.

The Cleveland native bounced between the streets and the stage for most of her adult life, moving to New York City, working as a performance artist (hence the wings) and, finally, settling back in Ohio in meager circumstances under which she began to write songs. Accompanying herself on harp or accordion, Baby Dee lends an androgynous voice to nakedly emotional balladry and jaunty revels in cabaret wisdom—such as “Teeth Are the Only Bones That Show”—that oscillate between the antique trappings of the music hall and the kind of ethereal chamber-pop that Antony fans adore.

Baby Dee’s tour is a sneak preview of the new disc, which already qualifies as the most original album of 2008. Be the first on your block to discover an artist your cult favorites have been listening to for years.