Kevin Bronson on April 17th, 2015

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Having piled up laurels in their native France, Christine and the Queens made their Los Angeles debut Wednesday night, leaving a sold-out crowd at the Echo alternately mesmerized and giddy. As first dates go, it was memorable.

• ||| Photos and review by Birdie Breeze

Christine and the Queens is the nom de tune of Héloïse Letissier, named female artist of the year at the (Grammy-equivalent in France) Victoires de la Musique. After making a splash at SXSW, the dance-pop artist saw her EP “Saint Claude” (the Madonna-endorsed video was directed by the duo J.A.C.K.) released in the U.S. this week.

Dressed in her typical menswear, Letissier stunned the Echo crowd into a wowed silence with her mysterious atmospheric opening number “Starshipper,” and then left fans screaming for more. Her minimalist synth-pop was back by two multi-instrumentalists and staged with two dancers. It was a stunning, stylized and inspiring set — including the songs “Tilted,” “IT,” “Narcissus Is Back” and the EP’s title track — which left the artist and audience grinning widely from ear to ear.

While at times reminiscent of Michael Jackson with the intense focus on dance and songs regarding the human condition, her style is completely fluid and springs from an innate natural muse. Gender-bending and humorous in her banter with the audience, she appears destined to become beloved by electro-pop fans across the spectrum.