Christine and the Queens – ​​PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE

Christine and The Queens’ immersive fourth studio album balances sinister and sweet sensibilities, building resplendent soundscapes that feel both distant and intimate. With many evocations of angels throughout, we get the sense this is Chris’s conversation with a celestial force.

There is a lot going on in PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE and yet it remains remarkably cohesive. It skilfully borrows and elevates: Tears can be so soft channels Sade and Moby, with a stalking beat that seductively torques; there are flutters of Caroline Polachek’s yearning on True love; and the pathos of Yazoo stings on Full of life. Shine’s moodiness is like Ethel Cain if she studied abroad, and the ballsy, trudging drum in Let me touch you once is pure Gorillaz-meets-Solange. Spoken word-breaks with the delivery of camp villains – more Brothers Grimm than Disney – festoon Track 10 and Lick the light out.

Chris’s reliably mellifluous vocals are more generative than ever here: at once delicate, like a finger tracing a marble vein, and strident. Vulnerable lyricism capturing all-consuming love adorns the record and you never once doubt his convictions – he knows the interstices of love. After an encounter with a divine messenger, it's clear Chris has the answers.

Listen to: I feel like an angel, Shine, Lick the light out (feat. Madonna)