Christine and the Queens - To Be Honest
Christine and the Queens
To Be Honest
‘To Be Honest’ is a beautiful and unflinching reflection on the past few years for Christine.
Who is Christine and the Queens? It’s a question he seems to have been asking himself and exploring meticulously over the last year.
In November he premiered his latest record ‘Redcar les adorables étoiles’ at the Southbank Centre under the guise of its titular star, Redcar.
A visually striking performance, it saw Redcar don a multitude of incredible outfits; the wings of an angel, crisp sharp suits, and gladiator breastplates paired with a bright red strap on. The evening started with Redcar adorned in a dress, one that wrapped tightly around their abdomen, like an anaconda. We described Redcar’s battle to peel away from it as like “witnessing a snake desperately attempting to writhe out of its old skin”.
Whilst Redcar slowly transformed into a more hyper-masculine form throughout the show, it was to the backdrop of an incredibly thematic, dark and complex record that perhaps could be accused of hiding behind a heavy amount of symbolism. In contrast, the new single ‘To Be Honest’ already feels much more like a personal affair. It sees Christine shed the Redcar persona and face head-on both the trauma of losing a loved one and their own transformation they’ve undergone over these last few years.
Grief weighs heavily on the track, it can be felt in every synth-soaked corner of the song. It fills the spaces that surround Chris’s vocals. There is also an accompanying heavy echo that makes the track feel like it resides within a church. It gives the impression of Chris pleading their soft laments into an endless void, a perfect sonic encapsulation of the empty pit grief can create.
That’s not to say that with such intense pain, there cannot be beauty. A renowned poetic force with his lyrics, ‘To Be Honest’ is some of Chris’s most striking work to date. “I’ve been through so much/That sometimes it feels far/It is like a movie played by another star/She’s a stranger, to be honest” is an incredible, powerful and succinct way to summarise what has been a tumultuous few years for the popstar, you can even hear the wistful reflection in his tone.
The track builds up to a mighty guitar-filled crescendo. It’s at this point the industrial power of Mike Dean’s production reverberates throughout. Known for his creative partnership with Kanye West over the years, you can feel slight influences of his groundbreaking Yeezus project seep through, almost as if Chris is paying homage to some of the acclaimed emotional work that has influenced themselves over the years. It indicates a grittiness, perhaps, even a dirtiness to Chris’s sound that they have yet to explore.
This darker intent was strongly hinted at on Redcar’s prologue record, however with ‘To Be Honest’, it feels as if June’s upcoming follow-up album ‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’ will feel not just like a culmination of the project, but an exciting encapsulation of Chris’s career to date whilst still managing to evolve their sound in thrilling ways.
We cannot wait to find out exactly how.
‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’ by Christine and the Queens will arrive June 9th, see order information and tour dates below.
‘To Be Honest’ is available on all streaming services now.
Buy the album
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See the tour
You can catch Christine touring ‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’ across the UK this Summer on the following dates. More ticket details and dates can be found on his website here.
6 Music Festival, Victoria Warehouse, Manchester -
Saturday, March 25th
Christine and the Queens Meltdown Festival,
Southbank Centre, London - Saturday, June 17th
Christine and the Queens Meltdown Festival,
Southbank Centre, London - Sunday, June 18th