List for the Insomniac

November 5, 2011 -- 12:16 A.M.

1. Broken - Sound Express
2. Burnt Around the Edges - Fools For Rowan
3. Skeleton - The Good Natured
4. Once We Were - We Were Kings
5. Poison - Bridge the Borders
6. Tell Me - The Lightweights
7. Adrenaline Rush - Start Up 45
8. Alive - Cloé Beaudoin
9. Watch Your Hands, Kid - Follow Your Hero
10. Disaster - Lost In Atlantis

List for the Insomniac

October 21, 2011 -- 2:01 A.M.

1. Faster, Faster - 7 Months Later
2. I'll Follow You - Andy Gruhin
3. Once We Were - We Were Kings
4. The City That Never - The Swear
5. Lost - One31
6. Rain on Me - The Orkids
7. Poison - Bridge the Borders
8. Alive - Cloé Beaudoin
9. Beverly - BackDrop
10. Chevala - EVA

Cloé Beaudoin Debuts New Evanescence Cover

Hey guys, check out this newest cover by that Canadian siren, Cloé Beaudoin. I'm as psyched as anybody for the new Evanescence album. As a huge fan of the first two albums, Fallen and The Open Door, I was stoked to hear the newest single front Evanescence's upcoming eponymous album, "What You Want." Now Beaudoin has again transformed a song and laced it with new levels of acoustic brilliance! Check out her cover of the new Evanescence song "What You Want" now!!

Cloé Beaudoin Debuts New Covers: Simple Plan and Red

It's been a little while since we heard from Cloé Beaudoin, but this Canadian siren is still going full-force. Now she's back with new covers of songs from the most recent albums by Simple Plan and Red.
For Simple Plan, Beaudoin's decided to cover their song "Astronaut" from their most recent album Get Your Heart On!. Beaudoin's breathy vocals rise to their greatest peaks as she belts out the choruses and I love the way she's done this acoustically. Everything works, and, as usual, Cloé Beaudoin has come back with a cover I love. Check it out.

Yet today, Cloé Beaudoin unveiled another cover for us. This time, it's Red's song "Lie to Me (Denial)," from their most recent album Until We Have Faces. Here, Beaudoin showcases her vocal strengths as well as her proficiency on guitar by taking a new song and making this one of her instantly classic covers. If there's one thing she does right, Beaudoin knows how to rework the song so it translates to everyone. Listen now!

List for the Insomniac

As I struggle with insomnia all the time, I've decided tonight to start a feature called List for the Insomniac. Every few nights or so (or whenever I can't sleep) I'll publish a list of the must-hear underground songs and artists that are filling the speakers in my room as I sit up and count the seconds to dawn. Enjoy guys, these are definitely some tunes that are must-hear songs, so why not listen when you can't sleep? After all, there's no time like the present!

June 18, 2011  --  1:05 A.M.

1. Rest in Peace (RIP) - Cloé Beaudoin
2. Crash -  Fit For Rivals
3. Dreaming - Have You Seen My Ghost
4. Tyranny of Saints - Tetrarch
5. Unstoppable - Almost Kings
6. The City That Never - The Swear
7. What Is It with Me - The Orkids
8. Tek No - Lost In Atlantis
9. Journey into Doubt - Into the Night
10. Photograph - The Riot Tapes

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.  

Cloé Beaudoin: Unwrapped and Under Covers

Up until now, the couple articles I've written here on Cloé Beaudoin have been on her original work: her acoustic ballads "Deliverance" and "Dying Awake," and of course her acoustic and full-band versions of her epic song, "Rest in Peace (RIP)." Yet this Canadian siren has more talent than I ever could have imagined as I review her back-catalog of videos on Youtube and take a look at some of her new uploads. It seems that many artists start out doing covers and the real test for them comes when they move from covering songs to writing their own original material. Yet sometimes, it is more intriguing to watch the motion in reverse, as once an artist has developed their own style through original work, it becomes interesting to see how they interpret another artist's music.

In the back-catalog, among covers of Linkin Park and Paramore, I find a year-old cover of Green Day's "21 Guns." When I first heard this song in May of 2009, I knew it was going to be huge: an epic ballad than sets the tone for the whole 21st Century Breakdown album. It's that one song that seems transcendent: full of life and rebirth all at the same time. Yet it grows in a whole new way when I listen to Beaudoin's cover of it. It has that same transcendent quality as the original, but there is something intense in a different way, almost as if the romance is coming from the other direction; whereas it was Billi Joe calling in the original, here Beaudoin is the one returning, and so lends to the song another level that it didn't have before.  

But that was a year ago, and to write about something a year old isn't exactly cutting edge. Yet Beaudoin has in the past week uploaded to new acoustic covers that just amaze me. A couple weeks ago I came across a new post on her Facebook fanpage alerting of a new cover, and so on a curious note I checked it out. A cover of Three Days Grace's new song "World So Cold" off their most recent album, Life Starts Now, the cover seemed odd at first: Beaudoin slows down the tempo and draws out the lyrics in breathy slight-pauses. But the minute she gets to the chorus, the speed immediately quickens, and she shoots it up, belting out the Amy Lee-style vocals that drew me to her originally. Just closing my eyes and listening, I know that this cover is special: there's just something about her breathy vocals married to the hardcore minor chords she plays on her guitar. I am at once addicted to the chorus and play it again and again.  

Yet even her Three Days Grace cover isn't the newest thing Beaudoin's done, though she only uploaded it no more than two weeks ago. This past Wednesday, Beaudoin uploaded yet another cover for my entertainment pleasure. This time it was a cover of fellow Canadians Sum 41's new single "Screaming Bloody Murder" from their upcoming release. Switching tracks from the post-grunge to the pop-punk, Beaudoin demonstrates again just how versatile she is and can be. Garnering just under a thousand views in just over four days, the cover showcases again Beaudoin's self-aware romantic vocals glued to an addictive melody and rhythm. The amazing pipes I have come to know Beaudoin for are prevalent and fit dynamically with the melodies she belts from her throat. I know this is a Sum 41 song and I am a huge Sum fan myself, but I must say in all honesty that if this was a Beaudoin original, I wouldn't be disappointed in any way. As with her cover of "World So Cold," Beaudoin slows down the tempo and then shoots forward during the choruses, lending to an already addictive track a certain sense of unique ambiguity that makes this song all the more impossible to turn off or turn down. 

Crystal clear from her covers as well as her originals, Cloé Beaudoin has that unique ability to transform and adapt herself to fit into any genre or style she wishes. It goes without saying that this song will be on repeat for the foreseeable future on my computer. Beaudoin continues her string of triumphs with this cover: most successful, most addictive.  

Deliverance to Peace, Cloé Beaudoin's Way

So any of you guys out there who have been reading for a while know that Cloé Beaudoin isn't new to New Rock News 43. She was featured here as a new artist about a month ago, and now I'm pleased to bring here back again, this time with a new twist.

Fresh from the release of her debut album, Living in the Shadow, Beaudoin's new release is her Rest in Peace EP (typeset as Rest in Peace- EP), which consists of four tracks, three acoustic, and one all-new, full-band recording. That would be enough to excite me, and should be enough to do the same to you guys, but NRN43 is all about detail and no bullshit, and I know it's been a slow couple of days, so I'm gonna go as deep into this EP as I can.

The title track on the EP, "Rest in Peace (RIP)" is, in my opinion, Beaudoin's greatest triumph. That was what I felt and thought when I heard the acoustic version of it on her Youtube channel. Now one can only imagine what I think with her release of the all-new, full-band version of the song. On her Youtube channel, Beaudoin notes that the song is inspired by the popular fiction novels in the Twilight Saga series, and it's my concrete opinion that if this song doesn't appear in the next Twilight movie release, than the director behind that camera is a complete moron. I would even go so far as to push for this song's use in the trailers for the film. The first time I heard "Rest in Peace (RIP)" I had chills. Now it feels like the whole ground is breaking apart under me. The way this songs builds from a soft, acoustic ballad to a hard-rock-inspired romantic anthem is incredible. The drums and bass that Beaudoin has clearly spent a lot of time and effort getting just right give this track the hardcore kick it lacked acoustically, and the stop-start palm-muted chords are post-grunge in effect until the blast-out chorus that is a clear throwback to Evanescence and Flyleaf takes off. Beaudoin's voice is a force all its own, and its bright hypnotic tone shoots this song right to the top of my most-played list for the week, and probably the month. In every way that Evanescence succeeds with "Bring Me to Life," and that Amy Lee herself succeeds vocally with her part on Seether's song "Broken," Cloé Beaudoin so triumphs on "Rest in Peace (RIP)." With a building guitar progression that climaxes in tragic and romantic intensity, I declare once again that this is Beaudoin's finest effort yet. And with a song like this under her belt, I know I have to hear more.

I took time to talk about "Deliverance" last time, so I'm gonna move passed that one right now, though it still stands as an amazing track, and one of my favorite songs by Beaudoin. Fresh and Romeo & Juliet in tone and nature, "Deliverance" is most certainly a song I would love to hear with a full band when Beaudoin decides it's the right time. Even acoustically, Beaudoin knocks it out of the ballpark with this one.

After "Deliverance" I move to a track I haven't heard before. "Dying Awake" has, if nothing else, a great title. Slow and sensual in its beginning, Beaudoin's vocals are smokey and romantic, and fog my mind with the haze of lust and love on a stormy winter's night by the fire. The chords are simple, and I love it. There is no need for any meticulous or intricate note progressions here, and truthfully, it might almost ruin the simple romanticism of the track. Cloé Beaudoin's darkly romantic and almost tragically loving music is something so unique I have to make up a new word to describe it. With a sound and tone I can only describe as romantcore (for whatever that means), Beaudoin contributes another five-star track to what promises to be a must-hear EP.

Lastly, there is "Brink of Insanity," a song that is much faster than the previous two, even if it i still acoustic. Beaudoin proves here with sharp chords and strong, determined vocals that she can throw her weight around with the other heavy players of the alternative scene, and not just sit safely in the acoustic light. A great song that seems a departure for Beaudoin in a way or two I can't quite put my finger on, that's why I love it. The mystery behind the notes and chords adds to its dusky bliss. The last track on the EP, "Brink of Insanity" wraps up nicely, and furnishes the other songs with a nice black bow and a metaphorical rose.

On here return to New Rock News 43, Beaudoin brings with her an EP most deserving of praise, and proof that her time away was not in vain. I am more than a little excited to get my hands on this, and you better believe that when I get up to school and on the radio, "Rest in Peace (RIP)" will be on heavy rotation for me. It's not news that this girl is going places, but I don't think I even knew what kind of talent she had buried deep down, and now, I know I and the rest of her fans are only beginning to see the tip of the iceberg.

Sounds Like: Evanescence, Amy Lee (solo), Flyleaf, Meg & Dia

Key Tracks from Rest in Peace- EP: "Rest in Peace (RIP)," "Dying Awake," "Brink of Insanity"

Check out Cloé Beaudoin more at: http://www.cloebeaudoin.com/index.php, http://www.myspace.com/cloebeaudoinmusic and http://www.youtube.com/user/cloebeaudoin

Cloé Beaudoin Rips My Heart Out

As all you guys probably could have surmised from my posts over the past few months, I've been trying to get more regular in my posting so you guys have a semi-structured blog to come back to every week or so. But ever the erratic music lover, there are just some days when I discover an amazing talent and I just can't wait to share it with you guys. I do promise to try and space all the posts a few days apart, so due justice is done to both you, the readers, and the artists, who might not be able to rush to my site and read the new article immediately. Never fear though, because if you do happen to miss a new post, or if I've posted a new one unexpectedly, you can always check out the most recent posts in the archive section of my blog. There's just too much talent out there for me to stifle myself all the time, so just take it as it comes guys haha.
Okay, enough blabbering on about stuff you all really don't care about haha. My post today (I would say this week, but I might have more coming for you guys sooner, lol, so we'll just have to see) is about an incredibly talented young woman from Quebec, Canada: Cloé Beaudoin. Now, I don't pretend to know anything about classical music and voice training, but after listening to this girl, I would bet anything that she's what voice instructors spend their lives hoping to discover. With a voice that reaches high into the rafters of my heart and soul, Beaudoin's notes immediately remind me of Lacey Mosely (Flyleaf), and Amy Lee (Evanescence) in particular.
One thing I love about this young artist already is that many of her songs seem to be inspired by serious topics, and those that aren't explicitly so still carry the feeling of having some deeper importance.
Case in point is the first track I listen to on Beaudoin's Youtube channel, "If This Is the End." By Beaudoin's comments, I learn that this one is written to denounce domestic abuse, a worthy cause if ever there was one. "If This Is the End" is a brilliant first track for me, filled with resonating guitar chords and boasting heavy yet insightful lyrics. What I can't get over, though, is Beaudoin's voice. The notes this girl can hit, so seamlessly and beautifully, intrigue me and absolutely floor me. Her voice is so much like that of Amy Lee, but only in range. Beaudoin's vocals are neither copied nor strained; she's not trying to be anyone but herself, and in that light she succeeds beyond anything I would have initially expected. A beautiful track until the end, I wonder if anything else can even begin to compete with it.
Beaudoin doesn't let up for one moment. The next track I pick out from her slew of originals I pick in part because of the note under it: "Inspired by a suicide note." With anything like that following the title, I know I have to listen to the song. I'm not disappointed at all. "Deliverance" is initially faster than "If This Is the End," but slows immediately as Beaudoin's vocals enter, and so already has thrown me in my expectation. The chorus on this one is brilliant: a full-throttle progression that kicks my heart rate up in much the same way as do many Evanescence and Flyleaf songs. Then suddenly, it ends, and the verses slow down once again, leaving me thinking of how flawlessly Beaudoin employs the Pixies' loud-quite-loud dynamic. Never have I heard it applied to acoustic music in such a way that it just jumps right out at me. "Deliverance" is one of the must-hear tracks on Beaudoin's Youtube channel, no contest.
The last track that I will let myself talk about here (because let's face it, once you hear this girl, you're gonna agree with me that nothing I write here can possibly do her justice) is the song "Rest in Peace (RIP)." This one, according to Beaudoin, was inspired by the Twilight Saga book series, and in much the same way that Meg & Dia use their favorite books to wring songs from their talented minds, Beaudoin uses this one to inspire one of her (in my humble opinion) most amazing songs. "Rest in Peace (RIP)" has, among its many bragging rights, an incredible vocal performance from Beaudoin. Right from the first chords she strums on her guitar, Beaudoin's voice is wafting up through my mind, washing away everything I thought I knew about acoustic vocals. I know I can't do this girl justice, but I'm gonna try. With a voice that would make angel's go green with envy, Beaudoin sends "Rest in Peace (RIP)" over the top with lyrics that resonate with every fiber of my being. A bombastic chorus blasts from her guitar, and everything about this song spells romance and forbidden love.
If Beaudoin never had anything else to call her own, she would still have "Rest in Peace (RIP)." But that's not the case at all. More originals abound all over her Youtube channel and Myspace. "Infected" and "Brink of Insanity" test her strengths even further, but I'm gonna let you guys discover those gems for yourselves. Just released recently, 2009's Living in the Shadow showcases some of Beaudoin's best tracks, and many more that make it one of the albums I'm gonna rush out to hear in its entirety. Don't forget the name Cloé Beaudoin; this girl is going places. Still under 20 years old, I believe that we haven't even begun to see the talent that resides in this girl. I'd keep my ears peeled for her if I was you, because there's no way this girl's talent is gonna go unrecognized. Hell would freeze over first.

Sounds Like: Evanescence, Amy Lee (solo), Flyleaf, Meg & Dia, The Wreckers

Key Tracks: "If This Is the End," "Rest in Peace (RIP)," "Deliverance," "Infected"

Check out Cloé Beaudoin more at: http://www.cloebeaudoin.com/index.php, http://www.myspace.com/cloebeaudoinmusic and http://www.youtube.com/user/cloebeaudoin