For the heartbroken and despondent, Chrissi’s early music has been undeniably alluring. From the visceral lyricism of her debut 2021 EP ‘Back In The Day’ to her breakout 2023 hit ‘Love Me In Chapters’, it’s clear that the Essex-born singer-songwriter has a knack for distilling sadness into arresting music. That’s but one side of the NME 100 artist, who now imbues her experiences of love, loss and self-doubt with joy, humour and tenderness on her sublime debut album ‘I Hate You Don’t Leave Me !’.
Upbeat opener ‘Pucker Up !’, one of the catchiest songs on the album, sets up the sonics for the rest of the record, which largely draws from Motown-era hits by the likes of The Supremes mixed with 2000s hip-hop influences and the rawness of her earlier work. But the song itself is a tonal outlier, a genuinely giddy love song that was written and recorded before the singer discovered that her now-ex-boyfriend was “a fucking weirdo with a partner and a child” – the fallout of which she faces head on elsewhere through biting and humorous lyricism.
Chrissi confronts the reality of her situation on the toe-tapping ‘Hard Launch !’, where she sings “You motherfucker, waited ’til my mother loved ya / Just to turn up with a wife and a baby, crazy”, her smoky, soulful vocals a cathartic mix of contempt and disbelief. She later lets herself wallow in her inability to let go of her feelings on the country-leaning title track, but her sharp pen still cuts through the heartache: “’Cause I could take your clothes off for you, but she still has your heart / I know that she gets the softer you, at least I still make you hard”.
The record is full of other similarly memorable lines, such as on ‘Paper Man !’ (“You better run / Big mama got her hands on a shotgun”) or ‘The Scariest Part !’ (“Told your baby mum wouldn’t wanna be ya… pain in the ass like diarr’- Chris, stop it”). But the LP isn’t just about great quips or smart one-liners; it’s also candid about self-doubt, the reality of being a woman in a chaotic world and having the expectations of the world on one’s shoulders.
“Scared of people / Scared of heights / Scared to have a daughter cos it’s one in five”, she sings on the melancholic ‘One In Five !’, referencing research that one in five women in England and Wales have been sexually assaulted. And she focuses her insecurities and jealousy onto a fictional character called ‘Josephine !’ – “If I tried to be like you / I won’t hate my silhouette”, she croons – before giving herself space to be real with herself: “I wanna be tender, I wanna be soft”.
‘I Hate You Don’t Leave Me !’ is a tongue-in-cheek reevaluation of what happens when you hit rock bottom and come out the other side stronger – all while never losing yourself. Chrissi has always been open and vulnerable in her music, with lyrics that hit you where it hurts and a gorgeous voice to match, but now she’s added more layers to show who she truly is: smart, wickedly funny, and just who she needs to be.
Details
- Record label: Black Butter Records
- Release date: October 16, 2026
The post Chrissi – ‘I Hate You Don’t Leave Me !’ review: a layered look at love, loss and self-doubt appeared first on NME.
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