song premiere: christine and the queens’ ‘narcissus is back’

One of our favorite shows at SXSW came from ridiculously stylish French singer Héloïse Letissier, who, under the alter ego Christine and the Queens, won over the crowd with her brand of sophisticated art-pop. Letissier, who's already a massive star in her native France, has been making a push for stateside stardom, and upcoming dates supporting Marina and the Diamonds on the West Coast leg of her tour should go a long way to help. (It also doesn't hurt that Lorde, Madonna, and Mark Ronson have all gone on record as fans.) 

We're premiering her latest track, "Narcissus Is Back," off the upcoming EP Saint Claude, which is being released on Neon Gold records in partnership with Christine and the Queens' French label, Because Music. The slinky, moody cut is a perfect introduction to Christine and the Queens' specific sound. Here's what Letissier had to say about the track.

It's an old, very old story, that comes from greek mythology : Narcissus walks by the water, falls in love with his own reflection, and finally drowns.

I walk down the streets and notice more and more people adjusting their phone to take a better picture - two years ago, I accumulated weird self-portraits, as if it could eventually alter my own face. 

But there's something even more interesting in this Narcissus myth : Echo, the nymph who loves him, and who doesn't get any of his attention. The legend says she died without being seen once by the man she adored - only her voice remained, endlessly repeating itself. 

A pop song is like a sophisticated echo, and I felt like her sometimes, when you didn't even care to look at me - see ? I'm fading again. 

Maybe a picture will help. 

I'm just like everyone else : I put my face on camera to be sure I'm even here at all - can you see me ? Can you see me ? ​