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The 50 best albums of 2024: No 2 – Cindy Lee: Diamond Jubilee
The mysterious and theatrical singer’s monumental 32-track album is a parallel dimension of nostalgic pop, its pristine tunes rivalling the greats of the 20th century
When it was released in March, the only way to hear it (aside from a YouTube video) was to go to a GeoCities website – a relic from the 90s internet, complete with multicoloured Times New Roman lettering – and download the audio files via Mega, the filesharing service beloved of 00s music blogs. Canadian musician Patrick Flegel, formerly of the band Women, has put out six previous albums as Cindy Lee, but Diamond Jubilee was their breakthrough, buoyed up by Pitchfork’s highest review score in four years and excitable chatter by fans on Reddit and Rate Your Music. The lyrics, full of mirrors, moonlight and other symbols heavy with romance, hark back to the miniature love stories that filled mid-century pop: “A taste so sweet and just so refined / I’ve only got one thing on my mind”; “My arms were open / My heart was stolen / When the tears start falling / I just keep rolling.” Despite the sound fidelity blurring the words, the clarity of the sentiments hit direct to the heart: “All I’ve got / Is the truth / All I want / Is you.”
Or read this on The Guardian
