Music fetishism and “the race for newness” aside, some tracks go overlooked only to be removed from under the proverbial rug months, or, in this case, almost a year after release. Vancouver’s Cindy Lee–comprised of Patrick Flegel, formerly of Women, and Morgan Cook and Julie Taylor, formerly of Yung Mums–is a band that put out one of these particular gems which I’m just beginning to dust off.
“Holding the Devil’s Hand” is a song that was initially released on Cindy Lee’s debut cassette Tatlashea in December 2012, which found a subsequent vinyl release on the B-side of Mongrel Magazine’s Red Mass/Cindy Lee split 7” in April '13. This cut is an outlier on the eight-song cassette, being one of the few pop songs on their coarse, noise-heavy productions not titled “Greasey Muthrfuker”.
“Holding the Devil’s Hand” could be crudely or aptly (you’re the judge, tunehead) surmised as Tyrannosaurus Rex covering Roy Orbison’s “Leah” for a Night-People release. Patrick Flegel’s waltz guitar plucking over his early Bolan-esque quivering provides that timeless, despondent lo-fi ooze that’ll have the solitary romancer wrapping that blanket tighter and tighter upon its gradual build. Let this one compliment that warm whiskey and lemon; it was prime for the Gates of Winter in 2013, now it can subsist a little more in the dawn of 2014.
While the Tatlashea cassette is sold out, the Red Mass/Cindy Lee split 7” featuring “Holding the Devil’s Hand” is still available over at Mongrel Magazine.
