Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee (Album Review)

Twitter: / jukeboxinfinite
Rate Your Music: rateyourmusic.com/~Vernon_Warez
★★★★★
Being an even-numbered thirty-two songs in length and running for just over two hours, a front-to-back listen to Diamond Jubilee is a journey-one that you may not be prepared for, at that. Throughout the record, themes of nostalgia, isolation, existentialism, love, heartbreak, and melancholy are explored in ways that feel entirely singular in the landscape of modern music while beautifully reshaping what it means to create an homage to another era of music that has gone by. More than anything, though, Diamond Jubilee makes me question what it really means to fall in love with a record. Is it connecting with a record on a compositional level and finding enjoyment in its musical intricacies? Is it embracing the raw expression of another human being as they artistically display the emotions that so many of us simply can't find the words for? Is it merely finding something that sounds pleasant to our ears and allowing it to soundtrack our lives? Maybe the answer is only found on a case-by-case basis from one album to the next, or maybe there's some sort of universal truth in there about how we all connect with art in the same ways and for the same reasons, albeit with our own unique manners in approaching that connection. At this point in time, however, I don't think there really needs to be an answer, as it would perhaps take away from the unfiltered, shimmering beauty of this record. That leads me back to the question that I posed at the beginning of this review: what makes me experience the kinds of deep, guttural feelings about this album less than a month after its release that I usually don't connect with a record until years after it initially drops? Truthfully, I don't think I can give a proper answer to that, either. All I know is that Diamond Jubilee is an ethereal masterpiece, and it is something that brings me devastating waves of joy and pain in a way that so few records can achieve. If this is Cindy Lee's proper send-off, then it is a career finale for the ages. Diamond Jubilee doesn't feel real, and even a month later, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm lucid-dreaming one of the most stunning albums I've ever heard (or, alternatively, one of the few albums that has ever inspired me to write a review as rambling and tedious as this one). Until I wake up, I will happily keep this one on repeat.

[@TheBigRR]

I LOVE this album. It reminds me of the Velvet Undergound’s self-titled album. Both are sublime…Great review, I look forward to watching more reviews.

[@the_infinite_jukebox]

Oh you're totally right! I never thought about it but this does have a very Pale Blue Eyes sort of melancholy throughout, good catch! Thank you for watching, much appreciated :)

[@jordanmertens8972]

Just like the album, this video's length seems excessive at first. But upon listening to it you realize its perfect.
Great work on this video fr.

[@the_infinite_jukebox]

Haha thank you!! I was a bit nervous about making a video this long but I felt like with how much I loved this record it was warranted. Appreciate you watching as always!

[@tameimpala37]

This is an astonishing album. This could easily be AOTY.

[@the_infinite_jukebox]

Yeah I agree, really stunning record. Glad you liked it as much as me! Thank you for watching :)

[@LfunkeyA]

oh yeah, Vincent Gallo's When also has similar vibes.

[@LfunkeyA]

listen to some Ariel Pink, John Maus or John Frusciante's first two records. similar lofi vibes.

[@the_infinite_jukebox]

Yeah those are pretty fair comparisons. I've heard some Pink and Maus and honestly neither really click with me at all, as for Frusciante I've only ever heard Niandra LaDes but I do really love that record so I'm inclined to listen to more of his solo work. Thank you for watching!