Christine And The Queens - Chaleur Humaine (Album Review)
Thursday, 17 March 2016
Written by Huw Baines
It’s easy to approach ‘Chaleur Humaine’ as though it's a new record as every spin reveals something different; a decaying synth here, a wash of strings there. But it's also about reinvention. The songs here are a couple of years old, but have been reconfigured, (literally) translated and presented time and again to fresh ears.
The work of Héloïse Letissier, ‘Chaleur Humaine’ is an investigation of gender, identity and artistic persona set to an immaculate soundtrack. This version, released last month, is an anglophone rendering of Christine and the Queens’ initial bow, which is already a critical and commercial darling in Letissier’s native France.
Its release in the UK joins dots with the journey to this point. Having left France, a depressed Letissier was swept up by the Soho drag scene, adopting the Christine and the Queens name and utilising it as a new frame through which to view gender fluidity, expression and personal freedom.
It also provided a foundation on which to build a narrative, a multidisciplinary stage show and this record, which is a treasure. Christine, Letissier told the Guardian, is “a young boy dreaming of being Beyoncé”.
‘Chaleur Humaine’ navigates low-lit synth pop and strident hooks, with Letissier’s voice alternating between soulful leads and flickering backing lines. Its songs are lithe and adaptable, with skeletal beats given warmth by surprising, radiant melodies or, on Saint Claude, a rich string arrangement that appears just as the song is saying its farewells. Science Fiction, meanwhile, initially picks up pace simply through the addition of finger clicks before synth barbs open the door to the chorus.
Letissier has a way with structure that allows the lyrics to flourish. iT spins around descending keys that provide a sugar rush while leaving space for the hook, “I’m a man now”, to breathe. Jonathan, a collaboration with Perfume Genius, is the slowest of slow burns, with the subtleties of Letissier's production letting its bare, painful sentiment stand out front: “Through the darkest nights. Can you handle the darkest nights? At the crack of dawn I am ashamed.”
‘Chaleur Humaine’ is the sort of album that will reward further, repeated investigation. A masterful debut and a promise of an intriguing future.
Christine and the Queens Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue May 03 2016 - LONDON Roundhouse
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