Following the breakup of Women in 2010, Flegel collaborated with Morgan Cook in the band Androgynous Mind, releasing the EP Nightstalker in 2012.[3] From there, the project evolved into Cindy Lee, which sees Flegel recording music primarily alone but continuing to perform with a rotating roster of supporting musicians.
For Cindy Lee, Flegel performs cross-dressed. When asked in a fan Q&A on web forum Reddit to elaborate on whether Cindy Lee is a character, a figure of her own, or something else, Flegel replied as follows:
[...] combining 'cross dressing' with live performance, over time [...] became a way to reinforce me doing something that I love doing that I often withhold from myself.
I have been perplexed by the novelty in peoples eyes of what I see as a very basic and very traditional performance on my part.[4]
Though earlier press pieces on Cindy Lee used they/them pronouns, a 2024 article written by a personal friend uses he/him pronouns when referring to Flegel throughout.[5]
Releases
The demo cassette Tatlashea was released by Canadian label Isolated Now Waves on Boxing Day 2012.[6] In 2015 Flegel self-released (via their CCQSK label) the full-length albums Act of Tenderness[7] and Malenkost,[8] both of which were later reissued and received wider distribution in the US and Europe. The compilation cassette Model Express was released by CCQSK in 2018 and pressed to vinyl by W.25th in 2020.
What's Tonight to Eternity? was released in February 2020. Its lead single, "Heavy Metal", was a posthumous tribute to Flegel's former Women bandmate Chris Reimer.[9]Cat O' Nine Tails followed in March 2020.[10]
In 2024, Cindy Lee released the double album Diamond Jubilee.[11] It received widespread critical acclaim, including the highest score given out by Pitchfork in four years.[12] A tour in support of the album began on April 6, but was canceled on May 4 as the project was set to play Chicago.[13]
Initially, the album was released digitally only, via two official channels: Flegel's own Realistik Studios website[14] – listeners were invited to send payment for a digital copy of the album – and their YouTube channel, via which the album can be streamed in full for free, without ads. The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.[15]
In October 2024, it was announced that the album is to be released on CD and vinyl by Superior Viaduct’s W.25th imprint, in February 2025.[16]
Collaborations
Flegel collaborated with Freak Heat Waves on their 2023 single In A Moment Divine. Flegel also performed as a live member of Freak Heat Waves in 2015 as well as during their 2023/2024 co-headlining North American tours. Steven Lind from Freak Heat Waves also collaborated with Flegel on Diamond Jubilee, co-writing Baby Blue as well as performing production and mixing duties on the record and contributing various instrumentation throughout the record.
In 2024, Flegel collaborated with Deerhunter drummer Moses Archuleta on his second studio album, Cemetery Classics, released under the moniker Moon Diagrams,[17] and with Noah Lennox on the Panda Bear single Defense.
Discography
Albums
Tatlashea (Isolated Now Waves, 2012; reissued 2016)
Act of Tenderness (CCQSK, 2015; Maple Death, 2018; W.25th, 2018)
Malenkost (Isolated Now Waves, 2015; Maple Death, 2018; W.25th, 2018)
