Christine and the Queens - Chris
Critic Score
Based on 36 reviews
2018 Ratings: #11 / 890
Year End Rank: #9
User Score
Based on 680 ratings
2018 Rank: #260
Liked by 50 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Guardian
A swaggering masculine alter-ego delivers Letissier’s punchy statement of intent, wrapping themes from gender fluidity to female agency in heady electronic pop.
100
XS Noize

Chris is both an impressive and ambitious second album.

100
The Telegraph

For a flag-waving LGBTQ artist riding the transgender express, the secret of Letissier's crossover charm is that she never lets polemic get in the way of a slick hook. It may be pop with a purpose, but first and foremost it is pop with a damn catchy chorus.

100
The Independent
On her second album, Héloïse Letissier expresses a strength, intelligence and sensuality that transcends gender.
100
DIY

Chart-mingling, radio-ready pop has rarely felt this disruptive.

100
NME

This is a deft and mind-bogglingly intelligent record – a subversive pop masterpiece – that somehow sounds effortless, too.

91
A.V. Club

Chris more than anything revels in fluid identities—whether gender, personality, mood, or otherwise—and the way they free people from expectations and limits. By extension, this frees up Christine And The Queens from musical conventions, and propels the group to the precipice of greatness.

91
Consequence of Sound

It’s groovy and funky and sultry, and it takes things seriously while still being joyful. It encourages freedom of form, in the sense of both body and art.

90
AllMusic

As she examines what masculinity, femininity, strength, and vulnerability mean to her, Christine has never sounded more exposed -- or in control. A triumph, Chris reaffirms just how masterfully she engages minds, hearts, and bodies.

90
The Line of Best Fit

Chris is the sound of an already accomplished artist pushing things even further, exploring new territories rather than resting on their laurels.

90
Clash
A breathless, breathtaking achievement, ‘Chris’ is a fascinating, infectious, endlessly suggestive work, an ode to 80s pop bombast that uses those splinters to build and then de-construct countless glimpses of Héloïse Letissier.
90
Earmilk

Chris should serve as a prototype for those looking to make both music and its message so personally meaningful that it invites others in to relish - and listen - in its depth and in its quality.

86
Paste
Timeliness of her lyrics aside, these are compelling, danceable pop songs with flickers of R&B and bass lines that any pop group would be jealous of.
85
Northern Transmissions
While it occasionally relies on its pop roots more than update them, Letissier’s delivery sends it over the top.
80
Gigwise
Easily one of the year’s most fascinating pop albums.
80
Q Magazine
The result is an album that balances sophistication with a satisfying pop sense, and emotional heft with a lightness of touch.
80
Dork

Far more than just a concept for a record, it’s a successful artistic experiment that demands attention. All eyes on Chris.

80
The Observer
In her new guise as the lustful Chris, Héloïse Letissier harnesses 80s funk to grapple with gender and identity on her ambitious second album.
80
musicOMH

One of the year’s most intelligent, enjoyable albums, and cements her position as one of our most intriguing, interesting pop stars.

80
Drowned in Sound

Chris is not Letissier’s masterpiece – that is surely yet to come – but it is a glorious statement of intent and a beacon of rainbow neon illuminating the current cultural and social landscape.

80
God Is in the TV

Taking everything up a notch from 2015’s hit debut ‘Chaleur Humaine’ (Human Warmth), this is most intensely personal and overtly sexual work yet.

80
Crack Magazine

This is an album that navigates the ambiguous waters of sexuality and identity, relationships and selfhood, with a steady, sure hand.

80
Mojo

Chris is an imposing structure, one likely to dominate 2018's skyline. There are, however, still heights left to hit.

80
Uncut
It's a lean, thrillingly muscular set from a genuinely distinctive talent.
80
Loud and Quiet

A refreshing and urgent exploration of what it means to be a woman in a cultural moment when women’s experiences definitely need to be heard.

80
Slant Magazine

Unlike most ephemeral pop music today, Chris—like the gender-fluid character at its center—feels consequential and everlasting.

80
Rolling Stone
Hélöise Letissier creates a polyglot pop that transcends gender, international borders and musical categories.
80
The Skinny

A sparkling pop album that flourishes in both English and French, Chris is a supremely confident introduction to the next phase of Christine and the Queens.

80
Under the Radar

This is the voice of a major emerging artist in mainstream music and one that has a fiercely strong sense of control over where she is heading.

79
Pitchfork
The kinetic French singer Hélöise Letissier lets us into the whole of her life, creating an electric blend of unforgettable imagery, emotional depth, and lurid pop-funk.
70
PopMatters

Chris is moving: either its beat will grab you or its lyrics will -- or both. And when it does, you'll lose all your social safeguards, and dance.

70
Spectrum Culture

Her metaphors blur the line between dancing to records and the act of love-making as great disco songs wont to do. Letissier sounds the freest and more importantly herself as she sings and struts to her favorite beat.

70
Exclaim!

Letessier's evidently heightened confidence goes a long, long way on Chris, and its emotions and attitude pop with astonishing strength, even if the sound could afford to do so a little more.

60
The Irish Times

Despite the new hair and shortened name, Chris is not a total reinvention of Letissier as an artist, it's simply a proclamation that she's one step closer to finding out who she really is.

Midline
85

Edit: I think critics are looking at this album for the wrong reasons. I honestly really like this album for what it is I could give less of a rats fat ass about how queer it is or how it surpasses the boundaries of gender I really don't care and if that's why your giving it a high score than so be it but don't give it a pass on being bad music if that's what you think it is.

The same thing happened with Sivans album critics went crazy over who made it rather than the music itself. Again ... read more

WildChameleon
69

Oh come on 90 !!!!!? It's a joke.

(I listened the french version. I don't know how the english version is)

The lyrical content don't deserve this big praise. It's really unilateral to the point that the multi big questions of sexuality, feminity, etc are often without nuances. It's a shame considering the past of Héloïse Letissier and her responses in interviews. Plus, she remains some non-sense sentences with "stylistic words" (Goya Soda, Soda l'imprécis for ... read more

depechemode4lif
83

A wonderful and empowering synthpop album. Great LGBTQ album with some of the best synthpop pf the past few years.

Raiksheen
75

Solid

AyeItsJoey
58

Pride Month Day 2:

Christine and the Queens comes with a fun synthpop record that talks about an assortment of things, without really having a sense of direction or depth to it outside of the sound. It feels like a hit compilation rather than a well-thought-out project like they usually do. It's very long and fillery as lyrics repeat themselves with no purpose, making the pretty cool punchy synth beats monotonous and overstay their welcome. It's pretty mediocre but I highly recommend their ... read more

Felix_96
60

6/10

solid

Fav tracks: Girldfriend, Goya Soda, Feel So Good, The stranger

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Added on: July 5, 2018