Diamond Jubilee (album)
| Diamond Jubilee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 March 2024 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | Psychedelic pop, Hypnagogic pop | |||
| Length | 122:09 | |||
| Label | Realistik | |||
| Producer |
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| Cindy Lee chronology | ||||
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Diamond Jubilee is the seventh studio album by Canadian band Cindy Lee, the project of musician Patrick Flegel. A triple album (double CD), it was released on 29 March 2024 on Flegel's own label Realistik Studios, available exclusively on YouTube or for purchase from a Web 1.0-style Realistik Studios website.[1] On 23 October 2024, it was released on Bandcamp and physical pre-orders were made available.[2]
The album received widespread critical acclaim upon its release, listed by Pitchfork as the #3 best album of the first half of the 2020s.[3]
Critical reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 95/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Beats Per Minute | 89%[5] |
| laut.de |   [6] |
| Mladina | 4/5[7] |
| OndaRock | 8/10[8] |
| Paste | 9.2/10[1] |
| Pitchfork | 9.1/10[9] |
| Uncut | 9/10[10] |
Diamond Jubilee was released to widespread critical acclaim. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Diamond Jubilee received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 95 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.[4] Andy Cush of Pitchfork gave the album a 9.1/10 review, calling it "an essential trove of music" where "each song is like a foggy transmission from a rock 'n' roll netherworld with its own ghostly canon of beloved hits".[9] It was the highest rating awarded by the website to a new album since Fiona Apple's 2020 album Fetch the Bolt Cutters.[11]
Elise Soutar of Paste rated the album 9.2/10, calling it Cindy Lee's "bittersweet magnum opus" that "is easily the densest, most rewarding body of work they have released to date—a staggering collection of psychedelic pop songs that can be difficult to tackle head on, if only due to the sheer quantity and quality of the work".[1] Exclaim! gave the album a Staff Pick, with reviewer Kaelen Bell writing, "Built on strains of '50s girl group pop, lush '60s psychedelia, itchy '70s radio rock, lo-fi '90s clutter and sparkling production choices grafted on from some alternate universe, Diamond Jubilee feels like the defining portrait of Cindy Lee as both artist and vessel."[12]
The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.[13]
Track listing
[edit]All lyrics are written by Patrick Flegel; all music is composed by Patrick Flegel except for "Baby Blue" by Patrick Flegel and Steven Lind.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Diamond Jubilee" | 5:22 |
| 2. | "Glitz" | 4:10 |
| 3. | "Baby Blue" | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Dreams of You" | 2:46 |
| 5. | "All I Want Is You" | 3:00 |
| 6. | "Dallas" | 3:15 |
| 7. | "Olive Drab" | 1:31 |
| 8. | "Always Dreaming" | 3:43 |
| 9. | "Wild One" | 2:04 |
| 10. | "Flesh and Blood" | 5:13 |
| 11. | "Le Machiniste Fantome" | 1:02 |
| 12. | "Kingdom Come" | 4:42 |
| 13. | "Demon Bitch" | 4:24 |
| 14. | "I Have My Doubts" | 3:32 |
| 15. | "Til Polarity's End" | 4:04 |
| 16. | "Realistik Heaven" | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 56:25 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stone Faces" | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Gayblevision" | 2:56 |
| 3. | "Dracula" | 6:08 |
| 4. | "Lockstepp" | 4:39 |
| 5. | "Government Cheque" | 5:06 |
| 6. | "Deepest Blue" | 2:57 |
| 7. | "To Heal This Wounded Heart" | 3:33 |
| 8. | "Golden Microphone" | 2:49 |
| 9. | "If You Hear Me Crying" | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Darling of the Diskoteque" | 3:04 |
| 11. | "Don't Tell Me I'm Wrong" | 4:48 |
| 12. | "What's It Going to Take" | 3:29 |
| 13. | "Wild Rose" | 3:50 |
| 14. | "Durham City Limit" | 5:24 |
| 15. | "Crime of Passion" | 3:13 |
| 16. | "24/7 Heaven" | 5:25 |
| Total length: | 65:44 | |
Personnel
[edit]- Patrick Flegel – performance, engineering, production
- Steven Lind – guitar ("Baby Blue", "Durham City Limit"); bass (sections of "Demon Bitch" and "Til Polarity's End"); drums ("Baby Blue", "Wild One"); synthesizer and strings ("Baby Blue", "Always Dreaming", "Flesh and Blood", "Dracula", "Lockstepp"); claps ("Wild Rose"); engineering, production, mixing
- Joshua Stevenson – mastering
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Soutar, Elise (7 April 2024). "Cindy Lee: 'Diamond Jubilee' Album Review". Paste. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Cindy Lee's 'Diamond Jubilee' Now Streaming On Bandcamp, Vinyl & CD Pre-Order Launched". Stereogum. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Larson, Jeremy D. (1 October 2024). "The 100 Best Albums of the 2020s So Far". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Wohlmacher, John (17 April 2024). "ALBUM REVIEW: CINDY LEE – DIAMOND JUBILEE". Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Gölz, Yannik. "Machs gut, Fremder!" (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Bužinel, Jaša (26 April 2024). "Cindy Lee: Diamond Jubilee" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Marmoro, Gianfranco (7 May 2024). "Diamond Jubilee" (in Italian). Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ a b Cush, Andy (12 April 2024). "Cindy Lee: Diamond Jubilee". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ Daniel Dylan Wray. "An out-of-the-blue magnum opus from the Canadian indie drag artist". Uncut. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Cohen, Ian (25 April 2024). "At The Cindy Lee Show, Making Sense Of The Hype". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Bell, Kaelen (2 April 2024). "'Diamond Jubilee' Is a Glittering Showcase for the Genius of Cindy Lee | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ David Friend, "Calgary rock project Cindy Lee among acts shortlisted for Polaris Music Prize". Global News, July 12, 2024.
