This album starts off with “Comme si”, and instantly this is a much steamier, groove-heavy material than other stuff Christine & The Queens have touched. Since day one, she’s been dealing with some very steamy Synth Pop and Electro Pop. But it’s never been this up front and in your face. There are some nice throwback synths and Héloïse just seems so much more in control. All of this, alongside some solid writing and some of her catchiest instrumentals to date, makes for a great intro to this sound. It’s positive and upbeat, and instrumentally just so much denser. I always felt like listening to her early material that she could be doing so much more. And here, that’s what we get, and it sounds great. Then we have “Girlfriend” featuring Dâm-Funk, which all around is just a fantastic Synth-Pop tune. I love the old-school synths, which 2018 has had its fair share of. It’s groovy, upbeat, and once again just so steamy. Héloïse has become so incredibly confident in herself the last few years. And I mean that in every way, like not only does she know exactly where she wants her sound. But hell, she sounds like she’s out to steal your girl, and it’s honestly awesome. Even Dâm-Funk’s contributions sound great. There’s just such a great aura of cool around this one, hell yea this works. The very steamy, nocturnal beats continue to hit one after another. This one is a lot more dangerous sounding and all, but it’s just as catchy and intoxicating. I love the gigantic atmosphere and how strong the grooves are, and just how sexual and passionate Héloïse sounds. She continues to sound just so strong and empowered, especially compared to how timid she came off at times on her debut. Not to mention this is just such a mysterious track, and I can’t help but eat that up. These aren’t wildly adventurous Synth Pop tunes. But the performances are passionate and there’s just so much more confidence here I can’t say no too. Then we have “Doesn’t Matter” which is so much more upbeat and has a great groove, which is something we haven’t heard that much of yet. And honestly, it’s just as catchy and infectious and certainly just as charismatic. This one dives into some pretty deep topics for the dancefloor. But it doesn’t come off nearly come off as awkward as it could have which is great. Not to mention, some of this production here remains absolutely immaculate, and some of these synths are just gigantic. This is one hell of a great track in general, and I couldn’t be happier with Christine and the Queens right about now.
Now, I’m not really that into “5 Dollars” as much overall. It’s moments like this that I feel like the songwriting isn’t as perfect as it could be. Christine’s performances here have done a good job of battling song topics that belong on the dance floor and off, but this just seems a little underwritten and not nearly as interesting. Not even a catchy chorus is doing anything for me here. Even instrumentally, this just isn’t as confident. However, “Goya Soda” instantly does get things back rolling in the right direction. This one is just so mysterious and genuinely chilling. Like, this one just gives me the feeling I’m observing some late night club that’s just sleazy enough. There continues to be sort of a throwback feel to this which I can appreciate, and the backing vocals here absolutely add plenty to just how vast this sounds. I do deep down, however, wish this could be a little bit more The grooves could be absolutely much more gigantic, and I feel like deep down Christine and the Queens should be writing even poppier music. But for a sort of noir-dripping collection of Synth Pop tunes, this is very likable. However, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about “Damn (What Must A Woman Do)”. This one overdoses on funk, which is something I really feel like this album could have done a lot more of. That, alongside how genuinely minimal these beats actually make for a really interesting tune. A lot of these tracks are on the much more minimal side, which is cool and all. But it does add a ton to the performances because it just puts more focus on Héloïse. It’s also once again almost overtly sexual, which honestly works so well for her. These are some steamy performances, my friend. But there are a lot of times where these minimal, steamy performances just aren’t enough. They’re so close, but not perfect. On “What’s-Her-Face”, Héloïse sounds incredible, this is easily one of her most impressive performances here. Not to mention, I do like some of the storytelling aspects to this. But at the same time, this could have been so much more gigantic and certainly more epic. And it’s a shame because I do still dig the chorus.
Man, but when this album is on, it’s on. Some of these beats are just so damn cool. Take for example “Feel So Good”. I love how nocturnal this is, and how once again just how strong Héloïse is coming off. She seems so in control of her performance. Once again, a lot of these instrumentals are just so chilling and minimal. But here, its the Héloïse show and it’s stunning, and the backing vocals definitely make this seem so much bigger. And some of these throwback keyboards are wonderfully nostalgic. So many of these tracks are just so simple. But they work so well, and it’s just something that was so necessary for modern music. Now, “Make Some Sense” seems to be one of the more emotional moments on this album. Which, yes, is saying something, because this entire album has been emotional. But this instrumental sadly is just so boring. It’s not even a minimal beat, because some of those have worked great. No, this is literally just uneventful and boring, and it makes a lot of Héloïse’s performances not nearly as interesting. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but “The Stranger” is not the ending I was expecting to hear. I do certainly like the playfulness of this, it’s certainly an aspect to this album that was missing. It’s actually not that terrible, it ends the album on a lighter note which is pleasant. But I do feel like the songwriting here is just alright. Like, the chorus doesn’t pop nearly as much as I figured it would, and Héloïse is a little more reserved here. But outside of that, this is a really solid ending to an overly decent Pop album.
Rating: 7.9/10
Give A Listen To: “Girlfriend”, “The Walker”, “Damn (What Must A Woman Do)”, “Feel So Good”
Least Favorite Track: “What’s-Her-Face”
Genre: Pop / Electro-Pop/ Synth Pop
Overall Thoughts: Christine and the Queens on this album steps out of her shell entirely and comes through with a much more confident and sleek Pop album than I really could have expected. The beats are often minimal, but the funky grooves, nocturnal vibes and Héloïse’s often commanding performances are pretty great. Now, there are a few instances here where I still think the sounds that Christine and the Queens could be so much bigger. Like, if these beats weren’t straightforward and she worked so much more on making Pop anthems she would be untouchable. But for now, Héloïse Letissier came through with a powerful, dominant Synth Pop album.
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