Christine & The Queens are dead, long live Rahim Redcar. Announcing his new album HOPECORE, which drops this Friday, the artist formerly known as Chris seems to be stepping fully into the Redcar persona that first emerged in the summer of 2022. Asked by a fan on his rebranded Instagram if Chris was over, Redcar replied, "he just happened to grew."

Redcar had previously leaked the entirety of HOPECORE himself via X at the end of July, immediately following the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, seemingly in response to not having been invited to perform. It's fitting, then, that Red's last – and possibly final – performance as Chris was at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, where he covered the Édith Piaf classic "Non, je ne regrette rien" and “Born to Be Alive” by French disco artist Patrick Hernandez.

Says Redcar in a press release:

“Hopecore was made with tears, blood, and mostly an unwavering faith in the raw, pure expression of the soul. Music took here its full prophetic vastness, got wilder, and called for an absolute quest where no one else came in to tamper with intentions. A call of the flesh, a prayer for justice and freedom.”

Lead single "Deep Holes" is described by Redcar as a "visual poem." Posting a clip from the video on Instagram, he subtitled the song "De profundis clamavi", referencing a famous line from Psalm 130 that translates from Latin to "out of the depths I cried."

The seven-track album includes new song "Red Birdman Emergency", which appears to call back to the song "My Birdman" from 2022's Redcar les adorable étoiles (prologue). Recent Christine & The Queens single "rentrer chez moi" is not included.

HOPECORE tracklist:
1. Forgive 8888888
2. Elevate
3. Ins8de of Me
4. Deep Holes
5. Red Birdman Emergency
6. Opera – I Understand
7. Manuela Danse

Redcar also promises in the press release that the album will be supported by a string of club dates, to be announced soon. In the meantime, Redcar will perform at the Homobloc festival in Manchester, UK, on 9 November.