Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee [CD]

A vinyl and CD edition has been universally wished-for ever since this modern masterpiece entered Earth's atmosphere last April, and for a time it did not seem likely to come out. The runaway viral success of this 2-hour long kaleidoscopic pop record, more of an endless playlist than a finite album, had overwhelmed its creator and prompted its performers to abandon a barebones tour that had gone from small print event listings to sold-out headlining overnight, and hadn't even been recorded with a physical release in mind at all, only available on a surreptitiously posted youtube clip, or as a download from the Cindy Lee Geocities (!!) page. Whether or not Pat Flegel, the Canadian musician behind the project, was just too humble or "in the zone" to realize that he had made one of the century's greatest pop albums is unclear, but it only makes its impact all the more genuinely astounding. So what does it sound like? In short, everything. A lot of ink has been spilled trying to account for it all (most of which I personally have avoided reading, opting just to hit play over and over again), but the handiest description I've seen is that it sounds like someone spinning a time-traveling radio dial that never, ever misses. Haunted doo-wop, forlorn mid-century Country and Western, dour black turtleneck era Velvets austerity, reverb soaked funk like something off of Twinight records, turgid Indonesian guitar tunings, Sonic Youthy scrapes, doomy Ultravoxian synthscapes, Elephant 6-style noise-collage raveups.... if I kept going, this letter would never end. Pat Flegel is that rare artist who has far-reaching taste and an eclectic record collection, sure, but also the ability to recreate all of it with his own unmistakable warped interpretation, and without much more than a guitar and some drum machines. As menacing as these songs may be, they contain a burning core of warmth, and melodies that will never leave your head. If this truly is the last Cindy Lee album, its a walk-off to beat them all.