Album Review Christine and the Queens - Redcar les adorables étoiles

Steeped in mythology, and featuring Chris in character as the mysterious Redcar, Christine and the Queens’ third album is an opera of emotion - wrapped in love, sensuality, awakening and suffering. Swerving from ‘80s funk to fluttering electro pop, the red car is always just out of sight - a sign of hope, of creative determination, a new beginning. Opener ‘Ma bien aimée bye-bye’ is draped in beautiful imagery - each lyric a shimmering story. “This life will last an eternity / This colour / Of the very first morning of summer / That ties you to me”. Synths bloom like the early morning rays of the sun, reaching out to a lover lost in the darkness. ‘Tu sais ce qu’il me faut’ celebrates seduction as he lusts over a beau; the way they walk, the way they dance, their body is celebrated in all its glory. This steamy display of virility is a direct contrast to the sweet and tender moments of ‘rien dire’. Less bombastic than the previous singles, Chris is surrounded by quivering electronics and soft drum patterns, his voice drenched in desire: “Oh we learn each other / Oh we wait for each other”. The LP runs like a theatrical production, conjuring a world in which emotions are felt rebelliously and unabashed. He wants the listener to be unafraid to really feel. This intensity is captured best on ‘looking for love’. One of only two tracks titled in English, the disco jam finds our protagonist on the search for meaningful romantic relations amidst synths that burst like heartbeats, where blood pounds and sweat drips. It conjures up dancefloors glowing beneath the throbbing strobe lights, illuminating couples tucked away in the club’s shadowy depths. On 2018’s self-titled ‘Chris’, his swaggering alter ego was brawny and brash - offering gleefully “to make your girl come.” As Redcar, Chris’ purpose on earth is for adoration, and it’s clear his heart is tender.