| Paranoia, Angels, True Love | |
| Type: | studio |
| Cover: | Christine and the Queens - Paranoia, Angels, True Love.png |
| Alt: | A half-naked Christine and the Queens half-bathed in light looking to the side and holding up his left arm. |
| Artist: | Christine and the Queens |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 96:49 |
| Label: | Because |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) |
| Prev Year: | 2022 |
Paranoia, Angels, True Love (also written as Paranoïa, Angels, True Love) is the fourth studio album by French singer Christine and the Queens, released through Because Music on 9 June 2023. It comprises the second, third and fourth parts of a series following Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) (2022), on which Héloïse Letissier adopted the moniker "Redcar". The album was preceded by the single "To Be Honest", and includes collaborations with Madonna, 070 Shake and Mike Dean.[1]
Héloïse Letissier called the album "the second part of an operatic gesture" including Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) (2022), and noted that it was inspired by "the glorious dramaturgy" of Tony Kushner's play Angels in America (1991). He also called it "a key towards heart-opening transformation, a prayer towards the self".[1]
Paranoia, Angels, True Love received a score of 81 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on nine critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Otis Robinson of DIY found that "the record's brilliance lies in an innovative ocean of modern opera, blending elements of soul, pop, trap, R&B, drum 'n' bass and musical theatre", but that the "presence of hip hop producer Mike Dean on the album lends a post-pop sound". He concluded that it is "a far way away from debut Chaleur humaine, yet just as unafraid", and "like no other exploration of grief – a new magnum opus".
Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian described Paranoia, Angels, True Love as a "masterpiece" where the despair of Letissier over the recent death of his mother "sublimated into astonishingly beautiful experimental pop, drenched in warm celestial light, punctured by spikes of confused pain", and produced a work that is "hypnotically melodic, clever, stylish, serious, fun, addictively unexpected and euphorically danceable." Eric Mason of Slant Magazine described the album as "the culmination of the French singer's ambitious approach to pop conventions" as well as "a collection of wiry, introspective songs that break from pop conventions while asserting the life-affirming power of love".
David Smyth of the Evening Standard found Paranoia, Angels, True Love to be "weird and absolutely wonderful" in contrast to the "weird and alienating" Redcar, with "songs of breathtaking beauty" that are a "long way from the smooth, sophisticated electronic pop" of Chaleur humaine. Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Tanatat Khuttapan opined that it is Letissier's "largest, most ambitious album to date" and "as enthralling and enigmatic as the tales of the mystique, embellished in epic theatrics and artful references", but found that some tracks would work better as "spoken poems [...] due to their slack, unmoving instrumentation".
Helen Brown of The Independent summarised the album as "requiring serious investment on the listener's part" as it is "too long and rambling to bring Christine and the Queens any new fans, or much action on the singles chart. Its self-indulgence may even tire some existing fans. But if you give it time to grow its wings, it can really lift you up." Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares compared it less favourably to Letissier's previous work, writing: "As a whole it doesn't feel as rewarding as the diamond-like clarity and brilliance of Chris or La Vita Nuova. Even if it's missing some of the electrifying immediacy of those works, there's a lot of challenging and emotionally powerful music here for fans to appreciate."
Neil McCormick of The Telegraph wrote that "with every new release, the work of Heloise Letissier becomes harder to summarise", finding there to be "many absolutely gorgeous moments" but that "the overwhelming mood is oppressive as it proceeds at a relentlessly mid tempo pace [...], frequently building to bombastic quasi-religious choral electro goth climaxes, with crunching drums, overloaded vocals and wailing lead guitar". He ultimately called it "a lot". Peyton Thomas of Pitchfork summarised that the album is a "raw, dreamlike, 20-song epic that still feels like a first draft" and that for "every stunner" track ("Tears Can Be So Soft", "I Met an Angel" and "True Love"), there is "a head-scratcher" ("Full of Life", "Let Me Touch You" and "Aimer, puis vivre"), comparing the latter set of tracks to Roman marble statues "stripped, over millennia, of their paint" and calling them "not all fully formed, and often crying out for color".