8 and 10, May in Review
A run through of the 8 albums and 10 songs I was enjoying the most this past May. Comprised mainly of new music, this list also includes some older releases that I've just listened to.
8 Albums
Diamond Jubilee- Cindy Lee (Realistik Studios)
★★★★ A Must Listen of the Year ★★★★
March 29th, 2024; lofi-rock
On the last day of March, Cindy Lee, the drag queen persona of long time musician Patrick Flegel, released their incredible two hour lofi rock album Diamond Jubilee. Available only through a free download link on a poorly designed (and kind of sketchy looking) website or through a two hour video with no song breaks on YouTube, the project was clearly intended to subvert and protest any form of commercial success or even impact. It’s an unsurprising move from the longterm fringe musician - yet still shocking to a degree, adding to the allure of a record which, despite its staunch inaccessibility, has been able to garner itself intense widespread praise from journalists and listeners alike.
Diamond Jubilee, for all the conversation that now surrounds it, is indeed a remarkable and immediately timeless record that is split into two parts, each roughly one hour, that seems to paint the sprawling and tragic life of someone who’s lived nearly 40 years, with moments of revelation both drowning and sparkling in a lifetime of devastation and beauty. It’s a record that throws itself into conflicting nostalgia and immediacy, transience and permanence, intimacy and detachment to depict the ever contradicting nature of a singular existence, all with the backdrop of queer isolation continuously looming. On the cover of the record, a cartoon Cindy in full drag sits on a still of a realistic freight train, their face depressed as they ultimately leave the plains of Alberta, Canada, where they were raised, for somewhere different - and hopefully better. And it’s in this very central image we find the rest of the record taking place, fully surrendering itself to the transitory and at times lonely nature of life. The cartoon Cindy, contrasted with their surroundings in both the literal and figurative senses, exists as the focal point, as a symbol of a livelihood that can feel so at odds with the world and oneself, of the universal experience where one’s identity can feel both fully formed and completely unrealized at the same time, as we follow our natural inclination to ruminate on the validities and limitations that exist within ourselves. The record’s deep existentialism and sincerity is front and center and is steeped in both nuance and familiarity.
As for the music itself, the album’s lofi quality is charming, comforting, and bit nostalgic, reminiscent of the soft rock of the 1970s as hints of old time R&B also come through. The poor audio quality is a bit risky, especially for a musician who’s been in the game this long, yet it’s this very aspect, as well as its length, that adds to the enigmatic layers and draw of the record. Cindy isn’t asking the listener for deep dives, intense listens, or in depth lyric readings - at least not at first - but rather to exist along with the music, let it play in the background of a morning around the house or a small gathering with friends, to do other things and let whatever moments shock or hit do so with the synchrony of the universe seemingly guiding everything else. And so it’s this less demanding yet still intentional nature of Diamond Jubilee that makes it what it is and reinforces the themes at hand of an artist not necessarily making sense of anything in the world but allowing it to pass by. It’s a rewarding, comforting, and ultimately stunning two hour statement from someone who has found glimpses of the profound in the mundane and recognized this has to be enough.
Standout Songs: “Kingdom Come”, “Flesh and Blood”, “Government Cheque”, “Durham City Limit”
Links to Listen:
Realistik Studios Download Link ($30 CAD Donation Recommended Not Required)
Ten Fold- Yaya Bey (Big Dada)
May 10th, 2024; r&b/dance/house
The Brooklyn artist returns on another incredible record, comprised of sonic textures and impressively straightforward yet nuanced lyrics, to cement her status in the current R&B scene and actualize the vision of what she thinks music can sound like. Over the course of 39 minutes and 16 somewhat shorter songs, Yaya Bey speaks of falling into her own success over the last few years, crippling economic pressures, and her own identity in the scope of relationships and friendships all over smooth and classy combinations of soul, jazz, r&b, and hip hop. It’s a wonderful and layered record that doesn’t shy from commerciality yet never fully gives into it.
Standout Songs: “sir princess bad bitch”, “all around los angeles”, “career day”
Here in the Pitch- Jess Pratt (Mexican Summer)
May 3rd, 2024; experimental/rock/jazz/electronic
Jessica Pratt’s follow up to her stunning and haunting 2019 record Quiet Signs has once again brought her into the spotlight as one of today’s most intriguing alternative folk acts. Over the course of the short but sweet Here in the Pitch, Jessica’s unique vision feels essential and moves with agency, and while her last record retreated more into melancholy and introversion, there’s an unmistakable lightness and desire to connect that thrives in this one, as her ghostly and melodic vocals rise above the instrumentals at hand to convey bits of hard won joy.
Standout Songs: “Life Is”, “Better Hate”, “Glances”
Funeral for Justice - Mdou Moctar (Matador)
May 3rd, 2024; psychedelic rock/instrumental
Mdou Moctar return with a timely psychedelic rock record, dissecting the long lasting impacts of colonialism, specifically within the context of the band’s own lives and how these experiences connect to greater patterns of systematic international violence. Originally based out of Niger, the band members had all of their lives uprooted in August of 2023 after being unable to return home from their United States tour due to the Nigerian coup, and so their latest release Funeral for Justice finds itself coming from those with firsthand accounts of the impacts of postcolonial terror. With the ongoing genocides and conflicts in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, and more, their stories and art bear even greater weight in the scope of western society’s ongoing reliance on mass global violence.
Standout Songs: “Imouhar”, “Sousoume Tamacheq”, “Imajighen”
Night Killaz Vol. 2 - Snow Strippers (Surf Gang)
May 8th, 2024; electronic/dance/pop
Dance floor anthems, loosely existential lyrics, lots of 2012-esq synths, etc. Snow Strippers returns on their second installment of the Night Killaz EP series - and once again never takes themselves too seriously in the process. The collection of songs is potently aggressive and a bit chaotic, reminiscent of the early 2010s dance hits - but thankfully far more engaging and clever. At heart of the project is a desire for expression and indulgence, mimicking the attitudes from the turn of the previous decade and logically following the recent y2k revival, that seeks to revel in the joy that always occurs between the bad.
Standout Songs: “So What If I’m A Freak”, “Draw A Heart”
phosphenes and iridescent lights - moondaughter (Delirio Prod)
November 4th, 2022; shoegaze/ambient/rock
In attempt to explore more experimental ambient music with a little bit more freedom from previous releases, the prolific Brazilian artist sonhos tomam conta took on the appropriately named moniker “moondaughter” to release a few projects that find them at the cross section of ambient and shoegaze. With less resources and a more quieter sound than their other projects, phosphenes and iridescent lights is a shimmering, existential, and personal record. Its lyrics touch on the beauty in the human mundane and grappling with a seemingly meaningless existence in the face of grief, where the music itself both swells and retreats mirroring the waves of which the mind can operate. At its highest, the project is an extraordinary observation of the human psyche from the throws of the middle of it, from an artist who has no option but to continuously create and express while simultaneously being enamored by the natural world and the small but powerful interpersonal phenomena all around them.
Standout Songs: “lonely people / neon cities”, “when i fall asleep”, “endless sea of nothingness”
放生会 (Hojoya)- Sheena Ringo (Universal Music)
May 31st, 2024; pop/rock/jazz
The longtime elusive and celebrated Japanese rockstar Sheena Ringo has returned with her seventh solo album 放生会(Hojoya). Continuing on with Ringo’s signature jazz infused pop rock, the record is an eclectic, freeing, and upbeat collection of songs meant to embrace femininity and womanhood. Enlisting a roster of other notable woman and nonbinary stars from the Japanese music scene of the early and late 2000s, Sheena’s intent was to reclaim and embrace the negative portrayals of powerful and demanding women and fem presenting individuals by the media. And so the product is a feminist record of epic cultural proportions, with even the one and only Hikaru Utada joining her for the standout “浪漫と算盤”, as some of Japan’s most famous musicians come together in collaboration and support.
Standout Songs: “浪漫と算盤 (feat. Hikaru Utada)”, “ドラ1独走 (feat. ATARASHII GAKKO!)”, “初KO勝ち(feat. Nocchi)”
Lives Outgrown - Beth Gibbons (Domino)
May 17th, 2024; experimental/alternative/rock
In a gorgeous and heartbreaking dissection of sorrow and existentialism, the Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons has released her debut solo album Lives Outgrown. Written over the better part of a decade, the record is a unique and at times atmospheric experimental soft rock project, with her singular voice and captivating production at the forefront. It can be an arresting listen that both comforts and provokes, with a sound surely reminiscent of the 90s alternative movement but with an impressive modernness that soars. The album and Beth’s point of view hold important bits of wisdom and insight into beginning to confront and understand aging and all that comes with second half of this life.
Standout Songs: “Tell Me Who You Are Today”, “Rewind”, “Reaching Out”
10 Songs
Lucky - Raveena, Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain (Moonstone Recordings)
Sweat - CVMILLE, A Blue Room (CVMILLE)
Embarrassed Dog - Chanel Beads, Your Day Will Come (Jagjaguwar)
Industry -SML, single (International Athem)
Closer- Fabiana Palladino, Fabiana Palladino (Paul Institute)
Test It - Erika de Casier, Still (4AD)
Lucifer - A.G. Cook, Britpop (New Alias)
Rare (featuring Carly Rae Jepsen) - Bullion, Affection (Ghostly International)
all of my love - oso oso, single (Yunahon Entertainment LLC)
Moonlight - The Weather Station, I Saw The TV Glow (Original Soundtrack) (A24 Music)