Baby Dee - Book Of Songs

The press release for Book Of Songs declares Baby Dee “the epitome of the phrase ‘back story’”. Surprisingly, this apparent hyperbole is supported by a spot of online research, which sheds some light on her life’s twists and turns (too many to go into here). At first the music isn’t quite so interesting; a pale approximation of Antony Hegarty’s androgynous chamber pop (the album is produced and arranged by touring Johnson Maxim Moston). It’s less theatrical than its predecessor Safe Inside The Day (or should that be successor - 150 copies of these songs were released back in 2004) and there’s a lingering air of pretentiousness to huskily sighed lyrics like “so write my song with a triad bright as a belt of stars”. But after a few listens it seductively slides beneath the skin, the odd beauty of her poetry making this wider release more than worthwhile. [Chris Buckle]