Ethereal Album from Christine and the Queens
PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE is a the fourth album from Christine and the Queens, which happened to be a heaven-sent masterpiece. It was released this past month via Because Music. Unlike previous releases, the album is marked by stylistic departure from fun dance tunes to thought-provoking lyricism. In fact, the album was largely inspired by Tony Kushner’s play Angels In America, as well as Chris’s introspection on his persona.
The journey begins in the intro “Overture,” which is a spoken-word track that is backed by ethereal synths and the listener is given the meaning of what they will expect.
“Tears can be so soft” is a hypnotic, orchestral ballad that explores the feelings of loneliness and the healing powers that tears can have on one. It is one of the standout tracks and it is accompanied by a music video in which captures the elegance of melancholy throughout its black and white visual.
“Marvin descending” is a piano ballad which later builds into a drum crescendo towards the end. It follows the journey of the titular character who happened to have a romantic history with the singer. “A day in the water” is a trip-hop plead to forget about reality for a while and getting away. “Full of life” samples classical piece “Canon In D” and it finds the singer fighting over what they want versus what he thinks is right.
“Angels crying in my bed” is a rippling, synth tale of desire and longing. It features a spoken word outro by legendary pop icon Madonna in which she reiterates her desire for the person of her affection. “Track 10” is an ambient tale of continued obsession.
After the instrumental interlude, the story is continued with “He’s been shining for ever, my son” is a poetic, drum-led manifesto of wishing to provide gender equality and a safer world for the opposite sex. “Flowery days” is an upbeat piano ballad that included vivid imagery of flowering scenery during the singer’s final days. “I met an angel” is an epic journey that once again includes a spoken word interlude by Madonna.
“True love” is a shimmery, hip-hop declaration of obsessive love which features 070 Shake. Like the first track, “True love” is also a standout from the album which includes its own music video.
“Let me touch you once” includes the return of 070 Shake and it is a sizzling number where Chris shares his most carnal desires. “Aimer, puis vivre” is entirely sung in Chris’s native French and is backed by sparkling synths. “Shine” deals with humanity and it is influenced by jazz. “We have to be friends” explores the feelings of heartbreak and rejection. “Lick the light out” completes the saga that features Madonna as both singers’ desires have gone up to the maximum. There is no point of return.
“To be honest” opens up a vulnerable side of Chris, in which he admits that he is afraid of ending up in a doomed romance. It is the third single from the album and it includes an accompanying music video where he is looking onto the isolated scenery.
“I feel like an angel” talks about the heavenly feeling after participating in sexual activities. Lastly but not least, “Big eye” is a seven minute odyssey that is characterized by heavy synths and echo-y vocals that mixes sexuality and the spiritual.
Chris performed at Coachella earlier this year and his set has been praised by Billboard for being “captivating.” In addition, Entertainment Weekly claimed it was “a triumphant, theatrical performance well worth the wait.” At the moment, the musician is in the midst of an international tour and will perform in summer festivals like Barcelona and Madrid’s Primavera, UK’s Glastonbury, and Roskilde in Denmark. In addition, he will be performing six times in North America during the fall. More dates can be seen down below.
6/09 – Madrid, Spain @ Primavera Madrid
6/11 – Hilvarenbeek, NL @ Best Kept Secret Festival
6/17-18 – London, UK @ Meltdown Festival
6/24 – Somerset, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
6/28 – Gdynia, Poland @ Open’er Festival
6/30 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
7/02 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter Festival
7/05 – Montreux, CH @ Montreux Jazz Festival
7/06 – Luxembourg @ Neumünster Abbey
7/08 – Montreal, CA @ Montreal Jazz Festival
7/09 – Montreal, CA @ Montreal Jazz Festival
7/11 – Québec, CA @ Festival d’Été de Québec
8/05 – Cornbury Park, UK @ Wilderness Festival
8/11 – Gothenburg, SWE @ Way Out West
8/13 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
8/18 – Charleville-Mézières, FR @ Cabaret Vert
8/25 – Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine
8/27 – Torino, IT @ Todays Festival
9/6 – Birmingham, UK @ Symphony Hall
9/7 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
9/8 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
9/10 – Dublin, IE @ 3Olympia Theatre
9/12 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
9/13 – Zurich, CH @ Unique Moments Landesmuseum
9/14 – Berlin, DE @ Verti Music Hall
9/16 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
9/17 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
10/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
10/18 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues Boston
10/21 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
10/22 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
10/23 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
10/25 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
10/26 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
11/17 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli Vredenburg
11/18 – Seraing, BE @ OM
11/20 – Lyon, FR @ Le Radiant
11/21 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Bikini
11/23 – Marseille, FR @ Le Silo
11/25 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef
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