Through the drag alter ego Cindy Lee, Flegel creates duality between the, as they say, “basic” and the supernatural. They contradict sweeping religious lyrics with empty expression, removing the glory and romanticism of prayer. Performing in drag is inherently political, but Cindy Lee draws draws quiet attention to queer identity.
Flegel has found serious success over the course of their career, earning Polaris Prize nominations both for their former band Women, to which they were the guitarist and lead vocalist, and in 2020 as Cindy Lee.
Inspired by the performances of icons like Faye Dunaway, Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, and Akihiro Miwa, produces work that plays with the archetypes of gender, intimacy, and complex identity. These themes transfer to their album art as well, What’s Tonight to Eternity, illustrated by Andrea Lusik is pictured below. In an interview with Jellybones, they reject the idea that Cindy Lee is at all revolutionary. Comparatively: “the way I do drag is so tame, conventional, basic, and traditional. When people ask what kind of drag I do, I’m like, 60’s closet queen.” Defining oneself as an outsider artist relies on the thoughts of others, which Flegel tends to avoid.
Is Cindy Lee changing music in Canada? According to them, no. And I’m not one to argue, but we’ll call it heavy encouragement and leave this link with you: https://www.geocities.ws/ccqsk/
