Cindy Lee follows up February’s brilliant What’s Tonight to Eternity? LP with March’s self-released Cat O’Nine Tails.

The 25-minute album’s clash of tones and genres is not a new approach for Cindy Lee, but the jarring transitions on this collection in particular sound like the artist challenging listeners.

Starting with a wildly dissimilar triptych of instrumental tracks (synthetic opener “Our Lady of Sorrows,” squelching neo-Classical “Cat O’Nine Tails,” and “Faith Restored,” a mild and meditative guitar piece), the album’s first vocals are not heard until seven minutes in.

“Love Remains,” a duet for Cindy Lee featuring Cindy Lee (thanks to Patrick Flegel’s masterful vocal manipulation recording techniques), is gorgeous 1960s indebted melancholy pop. The mood quickly changes with “Cat O’Nine Tails II,” a Wendy Carlos indebted instrumental, and the see-saw of modes and moods continues until closer “Bondage of the Mind,” a lilting up-tempo song that finds Cindy Lee in peak form.

The artwork makes Cat O’Nine Tails look like an obscure homemade Black Metal demo tape. Like most Black Metal demos, this album makes no attempt at being a masterpiece, but is instead a very personal collection made available directly from the artist to the initiated few that are closely following along on their journey.

Best Tracks: “Love Remains” and “Bondage of the Mind”

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