ALBUM REVIEW: Christine and the Queens – Redcar les adorables étoiles

Because Music

Released: 11.11.22

For bilingual readers, Christine And The Queens’ third record isn’t an ode to North Yorkshire stargazing, rather the exploits of the artist’s new alias, the eponymous Redcar. This latest character heralds the French star’s most expansive, high-concept undertaking to date – though frequently you’re left with the impression he was created with the ambitious contemporaneous live production in mind as opposed to a traditional studio effort.

Indeed, for all its outstanding high points (the exultant Tu sais ce qu’il me faut; the ethereal Cocteaus-echoing My Birdman), Redcar – perhaps by design – lacks the immediacy and universality of its predecessors. The eight-and-a-half-minute Combien de temps epitomises its disposition; a plodding, none-too-subtle hint that this project’s true calling awaits on the live stage.