Hidden gem
Physical release for mysterious Canadian’s celebrated seventh album.
Victoria Segal.
Black celebration: the inscrutable Cindy Lee continues to surprise and disturb.
Vanessa Tignanelli
Cindy Lee
★★★★
Diamond Jubilee
SUPERIOR VIADUCT/W.25TH. CD/LP
LAST SPRING, the restless eye of internet discourse fell upon Diamond Jubilee, the seventh release from Cindy Lee, the drag persona and musical project of Patrick Flegel, formerly the guitarist and vocalist in Calgary’s abstract-pop band Women. The creator of Diamond Jubilee’s two hours of music immediately made it clear these songs were not to be treated lightly: the curious needed to undertake an old-school treasure hunt, a suggested payment of $30 securing the WAV files from a GeoCities website. For music fans who like a side-quest, just finding the record was a delight, adding a furtive, peephole appeal to Flegel’s already inscrutable songwriting.