Cindy Lee
Diamond Jubilee
**and1/2 out of *****
Patrick Flegel has been recording his newest release as Cindy Lee for a few years now and the triple album Diamond Jubilee acts as a slow rolling sonic painting. Never in a hurry, working more as a mood piece, the long release allows the listener to exhale.
The idea of going longer during the height of the TikTok generation is admirable but Diamond Jubilee can't really be digested in one sitting and Flegel seems to know this. While cutting down the songs, eliminating some of the instrumentals, or breaking this up over multiple releases may have been the smarter move, Flegel wasn't interested in that. Instead he creates a dreamscape that floats along.
Overall the album sounds like pieces of Yo La Tengo, the artsier side of Wilco, and some early Beck as Flegel plays with layers of sounds, strings, repetition, dream pop, and distortion. The bulk of the album with songs like "Dreams Of You", "All I Want Is You", and "Dallas" all play with the off-kilter Americana, vibe as fuzzy riffs and lazy distortion mixes with distant, unemotional singing.
Flegel coats his vocals in reverb and keeps the listener at bay, never really feeling up close and personal. At times he break out some falsetto, such as on the pulsing "Always Dreaming" which ends with swirling sounds. The shimmer off-kilter folk of "Wild One" and the slightly upbeat "Kingdome Come" are both pleasant sonic journeys.
The album keeps rolling in this fashion. There are instrumental breaks like the string laden "Realistik Heaven" and the dream pop haziness of "Demon Bitch", both of which set tones and keep the record flowing. Never rising too high keeps the tone of the album intact, but also keeps this from really hitting greatness as the vibe keeps on and on and never truly illuminates anything special.
The over two hour triple album wraps up with the easy flowing strings that swell and dreamily drip out as "24/7 Heaven" eases things to a halt on a mellow mood. Cindy Lee's Diamond Jubilee is a dreamy, escapist sonic exhale that runs too long, but also soothes the ear drums.
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