Héloïse Letissier, the French pop auteur who records as Christine And The Queens, has been perfecting an oblique and personal take on pop music, and you can hear that at work on her new album Chris. She's also done it in her videos and performances, putting forth a tough and androgynous image that goes beautifully with her deeply vulnerable music. And now she's also doing it with her choice of covers.
Christine And The Queens recently recorded a session for the BBC's Live Lounge. As The FADER points out, Letissier did a live-in-studio version of her own song "5 Dollars" and then, in keeping with Live Lounge tradition, she also busted out a cover. This one was an inspired choice: "Kiss It Better," the dissolving and Price-evoking sex-jam from Rihanna's 2016 album ANTI. And Letessier did some things to that song.
Specifically, Letessier found ways to combine "Kiss It Better" with "Wuthering Heights," Kate Bush's wild and expressive 1978 hit. Letessier wove the choruses of both songs together in ways that, against odds, made sense. Talking about the choice after the performance, Letessier said, "It's so much about longing and being haunted by someone... The two songs just answer themselves beautifully." Video will probably show up online before long, but right now, you can hear the cover by heading over here and jumping to the 2:10:40 mark.
Chris is out now on Because Music.
