Christian Lee Hutson

887 fans

Paradise Pop. 10 feels a lot like finding an unpublished collection of short stories, scrawled hastily on the sides of airsickness bags and cocktail napkins, each one detailing the life of the unwitting passenger fortunate enough to be seated next to Christian Lee Hutson on their flight to Fort Worth.

Anyone who has had the good fortune of falling in love with his earlier albums - 2020’s Beginners and 2022’s Quitters - knows that he is a keen observer of both himself and the world. Those albums earned the Californian singer-songwriter international attention, with Pitchfork noting that, “Few lyricists can paint such clear portraits in such a small space; even fewer can set them so naturally to such long-breathed melodies”, the UK’s Guardian commending his work as “small films in song, delicate and devastating, lingering long” and No Depression heralding the arrival of “an artist fully formed and wise beyond his years”.

From the first line of the first song on this new album - “Tonight your name is Charlotte / In a play within a play” - he reminds the listener that he is again weaving a web of autobiographical fiction. However, this time he has somehow both simplified and sharpened his style.

On Paradise Pop. 10 you will visit the CC Club in Minneapolis, a San Francisco stage production of a Tom Stoppard play, a bowling alley at the Jersey Shore, and a 2003 Subaru where two dads consider kissing each other after a game of pick-up basketball. Despite how broad the world Hutson creates is, the album gives you the impression that you are at an airport gate of sorts, and all these characters are gathered together, waiting for their lives to begin. They make light conversation with each other as their flight continues to be delayed…just another 15 minutes.

Recorded at Figure 8 Studio in Brooklyn NY, the lifelong Angelino and his frequent collaborators - 4 x GRAMMY winner Phoebe Bridgers, GRAMMY-nominated producer & songwriter Marshall Vore, and GRAMMY-nominated engineer & multi-instrumentalist Joseph Lorge - ventured east to make Paradise Pop.10 and picked up some friends along the way. Lauded singer-songwriter Maya Hawke - whose latest album credits Hutson as producer and co-writer - co-wrote and sings harmony on the sharp and shoegaze-y earworm “Carousel Horses.” The song is a spiritual sequel to “Age Difference,” a single from Christian’s last record,Quitters, which depicts the crumbling of an unbalanced love affair: “You shouldn’t feel stupid/ I just knew before you did/ Now I’m sitting here spinning my wheels/ I bet you know how that feels.”

Recorded in the depths of winter, the close-knit talents from Los Angeles hunkered down to craft a brilliantly constructed and tender album. A captivating, breezy charm permeates every track, with each song hooked around Hutson’s warm, earthy vocals and dexterous story-telling. Whether fragile, finger-picking folk or rousing, beachy, power pop, these songs are informed by a sense of creeping melancholy about the place Hutson had spent most of his life; the sprawling, inscrutable city of Los Angeles had become haunted in his mind. A move to the East Coast, and the “eyes up” city of New York, was required to refresh his memory banks. “I wanted to make an eyes up record. A looking forward record,” he says.

He explains, “Sometimes when you live somewhere for a really long time, the place starts to feel like a memory graveyard. Every corner becomes kind of haunted in a way, kind of dragging you out of the present. That’s the street that Mikey used to live on. I smoked a cigarette in that alley with Zoe. There’s the rooftop we used to watch planes land from…y’know? That’s what LA became like for me, in the time after I made Quitters.” He expounds, “My last two records were really about exploring the past and mapping a little “star tour” of memories. Spending so much time revisiting all these emotional landmarks ended up giving me the feeling that I was missing my life. Like it was passing me while I was looking the other way. It felt really connected to the city. I would spend half my life in the car, just completely on autopilot, reliving my life from the beginning on repeat every day.” Having relocated to New York City he says he feels a very different energy around him, one he describes as,“You’re alive right now. You’re living your life today.”

Accompanied by Shahzad Ismaily’s synths, Hutson’s rich voice shines most clearly on the album’s first single “After Hours.” He sings from a condominium in a corporatized Heaven to the woman he misses back on earth. “Big budget productions of the lives of your loved ones / The good stuff is behind a paywall”. Though the citizens of this Heaven are offered daily glimpses into life on Earth, our narrator prefers to imagine the minutiae of his love’s routine while he waits for her to join him.

One of the album’s most sparse tracks, “Flamingos,” finds Hutson at the piano backed by longtime musical collaborator, and the album’s co-producer, Phoebe Bridgers singing harmony. In this song we catch a glimpse of an anxious traveler, fresh off a flight from Tokyo, as he weaves and bobs through a crowd to reunite with a girlfriend. “I’m taking the red eye over the dateline / A sea of slow walkers all taking their sweet time.” As he describes what he sees in her, we see him struggle to resist the urge to point out the differences between them, always reminding her of the score. “Losers remember the people who won / Winners are never afraid to lose / You only think about falling in love / I only think about you”. The listener is left with the question: If you love someone as they are, could you ever really lose?

The album is somehow both literary and unpretentious, maybe best exhibited in the final track, “Beauty School”. Singer-songwriter Katy Kirby sings backing vocals on this surprising pop-punk tinged dose of poolside folk rock. “In a mirror universe / Time is moving in reverse / I’m gonna turn my life around / everything is different now.” The lyrics to this chorus call back to that of another song from the record; “Candyland.” “Dismantling my time machine / I’ll probably put back together for the final scene.” Again, Hutson gives the keen listener the impression that he is actively re-narrativizing his life. That he has wound up somewhere he never thought he would be and is trying to wrap his head around how not to ruin it.

Paradise Pop. 10 takes its name from a real life “town” set deep in the woods of Parke County, Indiana, near where Hutson spent some of his childhood. There, just past the population sign, you’ll find a row of five houses on one side of the road and a cemetery on the other. Hutson shares, “When I was a kid, my dad used to take me up there, mostly because of the novelty of the town limits sign, but also because it was so quiet and peaceful. For years, he would say that if life ever got too crazy, we could go up there and start living our real lives; be the people we were always meant to be. It occurred to me while making this record, that most of our lives we spend waiting to “be the people we were always meant to be.” I wanted to name this record after that town because it always symbolized an arrival to me. It was the ‘when’ that I looked forward to as a child. ‘When’ it all made sense and I was finally who I was meant to be.”

Such a sleepy backwater could feel like a limbo of sorts, like time is frozen; leaving room for your mind to wander either backward into your regrets of the past or forward into the future, into the unknown. But if you can learn to quiet these thoughts, you might realize you aren’t waiting at all. There is no delay. You are living. You are here.

Olive Plunk
July 2024
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Top tracks

04
Water Ballet
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
04:16
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
10
Skeleton Crew
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:35
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
05
Candyland
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:09
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
08
After Hours
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:12
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
06
Flamingos
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
05:19
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
05
Northsiders
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:43
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
12
OCDemon
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
02:30
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Jason Boesel - Matthew Koma / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Jason Boesel - Matthew Koma
02
Carousel Horses
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
04:36
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn
11
Beauty School
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
04:02
Writer: Marshall Vore - Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Marshall Vore - Christian Lee Hutson
02
Talk
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
02:57
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
10
Black Cat
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
02:47
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
09
Teddy's Song
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:41
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
10
Single For The Summer
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:57
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
06
Twin Soul
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:52
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
16
Rubberneckers (Deluxe)
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
03:17
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
07
Fan Fiction
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:54
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
01
After Hours (Deluxe)
Christian Lee Hutson
After Hours (Deluxe)
03:05
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
08
State Bird
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
02:50
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Marshall Vore / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Marshall Vore
04
Sitting Up With A Sick Friend
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:19
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
04
Same Train
Heart Shaped
TRANSA
04:33
Writer: Evangeline AdaLioryn / Composers: Evangeline AdaLioryn - Evan Murname - Veronika Jane - Christian Lee Hutson
08
Get The Old Band Back Together
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:08
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
03
Autopilot
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:24
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
13
Triple Axel
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
02:29
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne
07
Cherry
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:32
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
01
Does Not Heal (Christian Lee Hutson Version)
Samia
Does Not Heal (Christian Lee Hutson Version)
04:26
Composers: Samia Finnerty - Nathan Stocker - Sara Labriola - Quinn McGovern
03
Lose This Number
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:56
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
01
Tiger
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:47
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
02
Which Will
Christian Lee Hutson
The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake
04:04
01
Atheist
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:00
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
13
Carousel Horses (Deluxe)
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
04:48
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn
09
Forever Immortalized
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:17
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
03
Rubberneckers
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:28
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Alex Lahey / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Alex Lahey
06
Blank Check
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
04:32
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne
09
Keep You Down
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
04:22
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
11
Creature Feature
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:50
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Sharon Silva / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Sharon Silva
02
Endangered Birds
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:57
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Marshall Vore / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Marshall Vore
01
Strawberry Lemonade
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
04:24
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne
02
Betty
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 1
05:00
04
Unforgivable
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:34
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
01
Just Like Heaven
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 2
03:26
Writer: Boris Williams - Robert Smith - Laurence Tolhurst - Paul Thompson - Simon Gallup / Composers: Boris Williams - Robert Smith - Laurence Tolhurst - Paul Thompson - Simon Gallup
01
Dancing Queen
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 1
04:04
01
Silent Night
Christian Lee Hutson
Silent Night
03:17
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Public Domain
05
Age Difference
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
05:07
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
02
There She Goes
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 3
03:50
Writer: Lee Mavers / Composers: Lee Mavers
01
You're Still The One
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 3
03:34
Writer: Shania Twain - Robert Lange / Composers: Shania Twain - Robert Lange
02
Bloom Wither Bloom (for Mom) (feat. Christian Lee Hutson, Gabby’s World)
Why?
AOKOHIO
04:10
07
Seven Lakes
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
04:03
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson

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  • Discography
Albums
℗ 2024 Anti
27-09-2024
Paradise Pop. 10
01
Tiger
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:47
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
02
Carousel Horses
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
04:36
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn
03
Autopilot
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:24
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
04
Water Ballet
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
04:16
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
05
Candyland
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:09
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
06
Flamingos
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
05:19
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
07
Fan Fiction
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10
03:54
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
Access the complete album info (11 songs)
℗ 2025 Anti
27-09-2024
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
01
Tiger
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
03:47
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
02
Carousel Horses
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
04:36
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke - Phoebe Cockburn
03
Autopilot
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
03:24
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
04
Water Ballet
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
04:16
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
05
Candyland
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
03:09
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
06
Flamingos
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
05:19
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
07
Fan Fiction
Christian Lee Hutson
Paradise Pop. 10 (Deluxe)
03:54
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Maya Hawke
Access the complete album info (17 songs)
Anti
01-04-2022
Quitters
01
Strawberry Lemonade
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
04:24
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne
02
Endangered Birds
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:57
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Marshall Vore / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Marshall Vore
03
Rubberneckers
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:28
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Alex Lahey / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Alex Lahey
04
Sitting Up With A Sick Friend
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:19
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
05
Age Difference
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
05:07
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
06
Blank Check
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
04:32
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson - Al Menne
07
Cherry
Christian Lee Hutson
Quitters
03:32
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
Access the complete album info (13 songs)
Anti
29-05-2020
Beginners
01
Atheist
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:00
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
02
Talk
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
02:57
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
03
Lose This Number
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:56
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
04
Unforgivable
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:34
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
05
Northsiders
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:43
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
06
Twin Soul
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
03:52
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
07
Seven Lakes
Christian Lee Hutson
Beginners
04:03
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
Access the complete album info (10 songs)
EPs
Anti
06-08-2021
The Version Suicides, Vol. 3
01
You're Still The One
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 3
03:34
Writer: Shania Twain - Robert Lange / Composers: Shania Twain - Robert Lange
02
There She Goes
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 3
03:50
Writer: Lee Mavers / Composers: Lee Mavers
03
I'm So Tired
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 3
01:46
Writer: Brendan Canty - Joseph Lally - Ian MacKaye - Guy Picciotto / Composers: Brendan Canty - Joseph Lally - Ian MacKaye - Guy Picciotto
Anti
12-03-2021
The Version Suicides, Vol. 2
01
Just Like Heaven
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 2
03:26
Writer: Boris Williams - Robert Smith - Laurence Tolhurst - Paul Thompson - Simon Gallup / Composers: Boris Williams - Robert Smith - Laurence Tolhurst - Paul Thompson - Simon Gallup
02
Why Can't I
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 2
04:15
Writer: Lauren Christy - Graham Edwards - Elizabeth Phair - Scott Spock / Composers: Lauren Christy - Graham Edwards - Elizabeth Phair - Scott Spock
03
I'm Going Down
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 2
03:32
Writer: Bruce Springsteen / Composers: Bruce Springsteen
Anti
15-01-2021
The Version Suicides, Vol. 1
01
Dancing Queen
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 1
04:04
02
Betty
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 1
05:00
03
A Thousand Miles
Christian Lee Hutson
The Version Suicides, Vol. 1
04:08
℗ 2016 Audiotree Music
03-08-2016
Christian Lee Hutson (Audiotree Live)
01
I'm Good for It (Audiotree Live)
Christian Lee Hutson
Christian Lee Hutson (Audiotree Live)
04:10
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
02
I Have to Keep You Down (Audiotree Live)
Christian Lee Hutson
Christian Lee Hutson (Audiotree Live)
04:54
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
03
You Don't Remember Anything (Audiotree Live)
Christian Lee Hutson
Christian Lee Hutson (Audiotree Live)
04:34
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
04
Tipping the Scale (Audiotree Live)
Christian Lee Hutson
Christian Lee Hutson (Audiotree Live)
03:25
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
05
I Just Can't Fucking Do It Anymore (Audiotree Live)
Christian Lee Hutson
Christian Lee Hutson (Audiotree Live)
03:29
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
Singles
℗ 2025 Anti
12-05-2025
After Hours (Deluxe)
01
After Hours (Deluxe)
Christian Lee Hutson
After Hours (Deluxe)
03:05
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
2024 Red Hot Org
22-11-2024
Same Train
01
Same Train
Heart Shaped
Same Train
04:33
Writer: Evangeline AdaLioryn / Composers: Evangeline AdaLioryn - Evan Murname - Veronika Jane - Christian Lee Hutson
Anti
16-11-2022
Silent Night
01
Silent Night
Christian Lee Hutson
Silent Night
03:17
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Public Domain
Anti
04-11-2021
Strawberry Lemonade
01
Strawberry Lemonade
Christian Lee Hutson
Strawberry Lemonade
04:24
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson / Composers: Christian Lee Hutson
Anti
15-12-2020
The Christmas Song
01
The Christmas Song
Christian Lee Hutson
The Christmas Song
03:10
2019 Christian Lee Hutson
08-03-2019
Northsiders
01
Northsiders
Christian Lee Hutson
Northsiders
03:43
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
Jam in the Van
25-02-2017
Jam in the Van - Christian Lee Hutson (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
01
I Have To Keep You Down (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
Jam in the Van
Jam in the Van - Christian Lee Hutson (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
05:11
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
02
I Just Can't Fucking Do It Anymore (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
Jam in the Van
Jam in the Van - Christian Lee Hutson (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
03:38
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson
03
The Kid (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
Jam in the Van
Jam in the Van - Christian Lee Hutson (Live Session, Los Angeles, CA, 2016)
03:50
Writer: Christian Lee Hutson