The electricity that French popstar Héloïse Letissier (aka Christine and the Queens) generates is unmatched. Over delectable pop beats, her dreamy voice dips in and out of French and English and creates a purely magical state of electropop that we just can’t get enough of. And for her latest project La Vita Nuova, the star has never shone brighter.
Translated from Italian, La Vita Nuova simply reads “The New Life,” and it feels as though that’s what Letissier wants us to believe. Starting off strong with her latest single ‘People, I’ve been sad’, we’re instantly thrown into the cosmic vortex that is the EP. Letissier’s perfect blend of synthesisers and her fit-for-a-stadium voice generate the perfect alt-pop song to begin our journey with.
We then travel into ‘Je Disparais Dans Tes Bras,’ the French version of the bonus track ‘I disappear in your arms.’ Its slightly darker and edgier beat reflects the theme of fear in the song, using the heavy electronic percussion to sonically represent the battle of toxic love. In the heartbreaking ‘Mountains (we met),’ Letissier’s voice is simultaneously the most vulnerable and loudest. We enter the euphoric state of our journey, floating our way through the gorgeous lullaby before waking back up with the punchy ‘Nada.’
On the title track ‘La Vita Nuova,’ Letissier brings in fellow pop artist Caroline Polachek to unpack the true meaning behind the EP. Taken from Dante’s first known work of the same name depicting medieval courtly love, Letissier brings the story to modern life and realises the underlying theme of two people wanting to be touched is the same in any era. Its breakthrough freedom is our way out of the vortex, and we emerge feeling like we’ve really begun a new life.
To accompany the EP, the star debuted a short film to visually showcase the meaning of each track. We follow Letissier as she moves through Palais Garnier, the world-famous Parisian opera house, while being chased by a red-eyed, horned creature called ‘The Fauna.’ The two characters represent a lustful desire and a conflicting back-and-forth that results in The Fauna’s death and Letissier inheriting his spirit.
The film brings a whole new level of drama to the EP that, once watched, becomes inescapable. It’s tragic, it’s beautiful, and it’s 100% Christine and the Queens.
