Cloé Beaudoin, Out Beyond the Sea

One of my tightly-held beliefs with regard to the world music community in general is that it's truly heartbreaking how much talent is out there. There is so much talent, in fact, that I'm finding hard to keep up with the new artists I want to premier here and the vets that just keep pumping out treasure after treasure of artistic triumph. Case in point (again!), Cloé Beaudoin, that Canadian-French siren from the snow-drift clutches of eastern Canada. Beaudoin's covers of "World So Cold," "21 Guns," and "Screaming Bloody Murder," as well as her original pieces "Rest in Peace (RIP)" and "Deliverance," are all five-star tracks if I ever heard any. They grab you and shake you, and don't let go even a little until you're wiped out and waiting for more.

Yet one thing I love about Beaudoin as an artist is that she relishes a challenge and revels in her versatility. Whereas her covers before of Three Days Grace, Sum 41, Green Day and Evanescence all broadcast Beaudoin's hard-rock side, and her original "Rest in Peace (RIP)" in particular shows her deep edge, Beaudoin can just as easily decide to let down her guard a little and surprise me yet again.

I suppose it really should no longer be a surprise when she unveils a new cover that is as far removed from post-grunge and hard-rock as any, but still carries the same punch that the others do. Premiering just a couple of hours ago, Beaudoin's new cover, an updated take on Bobby Darin's classic song "Beyond the Sea," exhibits once again how this siren from the north with the fiery voice can blow us all away.

To be truthful, I'm not as familiar with this song as I was with "21 Guns," but still I used to hear it playing in the house from time to time. A melody from a bygone time, "Beyond the Sea" is almost Big Band-ish, a throwback to Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, and other singers who perfected the love ballad. Here, Beaudoin trounces the opposition yet again, and delivers a unique and breathy performance that would have even the most die-hard of Darin fans intrigued. Though not her usual choice in style, Beaudoin nevertheless shines on this song. Definitely a triumph for Beaudoin in its unique placement as a Big Band song covered by an alternative/acoustic musician, "Beyond the Sea" takes on new life in an era when such songs are not heard so often anymore. My favorite song for the day, Cloé Beaudoin does it again. I can't say that I'm even the least bit surprised.