Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
You know that excitement you have when you finally reunite with an old buddy you haven't seen in a while? Well that's what this album feels like from front to back. An absolute sweet experience that I haven't gotten from a Lofi record in a long time.
I was hooked upon initial release of Diamond Jubilee, despite the two-hour runtime and me having no idea about this artists past catalogue. I was in the mood for some quality lofi pop that frankly, I haven't heard enough from in this decade so far. But after situating myself with this record for over a month, keeping all 32 tracks on constant rotation, this album, while not perfect of fully consistent by any means, is wall-to-wall nostalgia that I never knew I needed in 2024. The whole project contains sounds that I never knew would strike a chord with me and actually makes me feel like I'm being transported through memories of 60s and 70s pop, but in a way that feels refreshing and non-redundant of their influences. This album is a feast that brings just about everything to the table. You may not know which course is coming up next, how it tastes or how its presented, but everything that is presented reflects a spark of memory within you. You may not know what of, but it gives you warmth and comfort regardless of what it may be. And for much of this album, I experience the same feelings.
This album may not be as consistent as I want from a hefty project like this one, but it is consistently varied. Across it's 32 songs, Diamond Jubilee moves you across different atmospheres like various scenes making up a film. Each track is a frame for the moment to exist in and every track in conjunction, while maybe not reinforcing the other songs on here as tightly, are much welcomed editions to the tracklist that provides more variety in its raw nostalgia.
You have songs like the opening track, I've had My Doubts, and Government Cheque, which take a while to develop before the listeners eyes, but when it opens its colors, you cannot help but to gaze your eyes further into the bliss. These songs remind me not just of the singer-songwriters of the 70s that graced their presence by creating auras for these songs to gradually flourish, but also connecting itself to the DIY style of most modern lofi music you pick off of Bandcamp. But what this album achieves that I don't see other project within the same realm achieving as well is the sense of bliss and raw emotion that is put into every detail of the production. It like when you listen to it, the mix and the elements that complement it convey a longing in the listener, either for something that doesn't exist or for something they didn't even though they've longed for. That sense of desperation carries throughout the album on tracks such as All I Want is You, Wild One, and If You Hear Me Crying. The latter of the three has one of the most infectious vocal lines on the project, like a voice of child-like innocence quaintly crying out into the void. And the slow nature of these tracks give the simplistic melody structures and production choices room to breathe and again, radiate their true nostalgic tones across the listener's ears.
The dancier, poppier cuts like Golden Microphone, Flesh and Blood, and the astonishing Kingdom Come, which could've easily gotten airplay within radio's golden age, are some of the most replayable cuts and fun cuts the album offers, where the more upbeat moments don't work against the ballad driven core of the record. The high-pitched vocoder on the lead vocals are a welcome edition to these songs, as the filter through which the melodies pass through reflect the innocence and tongue-in-cheek nature shown throughout these vocal performances. It's almost like your in a dark, dimly lit room by yourself, your walkman down on the kitchen table, observing the atmosphere and no matter how you feel, you are dancing with yourself and feeling the emotion that comes around it.
And then the balladry on the record is some of the sweetest I've heard all year. Dallas is a reflection of a past love and longing to keep yourself satisfied after a loss, done through one verse and some simple guitar arpeggios and harmonies. Then Always Dreaming finds itself rotating between the layered arrangements of regular and pitched vocals commanding the core quietness of the melody, and the sheik textural aura of guitars and synths that envelop the listener in all of its inaccuracies. And Darling of the Diskoteque, another instrumental piece, might be one of my favorite instrumentals of the year. The soft, ballad-like chord jumps on the guitar mash together perfectly with the cymbal and snare hits fading in the background, almost like your dancing alone in an abandoned club with a lover. It may not be the most boundary pushing moment on the album, but between the emotional whiplash between each moment, this is the hidden gem on the album which, yet again, we never knew we needed until it came on.
There is beauty in simplicity throughout the project, but not so simple that it distracts the listener during the long run of tracks. In fact, its the combination of simplistic structures, minimalist DIY production choices, and the innocence conveyed within the lyrics and vocal passages that really make this album shine at the core. This is an album where you don't need to stick around for its full two hours in order to get something out of, in fact there are multiple takeaways on each track, whether its out of nostalgia, yearning, bliss, or a combination of the three. But if you do take the patience to stick around for its full journey, you will be graciously rewarded. Diamond Jubilee is the album in 2024 that I never expected I would need, but I'm satisfied that I've grown to love it for all of its musical callbacks and the sheer immaculate beauty at the core of the project that radiates with time. If your a fan of any lofi music, do not skip out on this one because this album might be the best gift the genre has had to offer in quite some time, and there might not be another one that tops it for a while.
FAVORITES: Diamond Jubilee, Baby Blue, Dreams of You, All I Want is You, Flesh and Blood, Kingdom Come, Stone Faces, GAYBLEVISION, Dracula, If You Hear Me Crying, Darling of the Diskotheque, 24/7 Heaven
LEAST FAVORITE: Lockstepp
9/10
