Charlotte Gainsbourg — IRM

The conception of IRM was sudden, and became fully realized through the healing process. The true inspiration: Charlotte Gainsbourg's water skiing accident — resulting in cerebral hemorrhage, and the album's title, IRM, is the French take on the many loud MRI machines Gainsbourg was forced to undergo for months, “When I was inside that machine” she said, “It was an escape to think about music. It's rhythm. It was very chaotic.”

Gainsbourg has been familiar with the music industry and spotlight for some time, with her father, provocative musician Serge Gainsbourg being a huge name in French music, recording with the likes of France Gall and Brigitte Bardot, with a reputation that can only be described as gauche. As a child, Gainsbourg showed an aptitude for singing in her signature breathy whisper, her father encouraged her musical abilities in producing her and performing with her in the controversial track Lemon Incest which was recorded in 1984 when Gainsbourg was 13, two years later, her debut album Charlotte For Ever was created. Her music career took a long hiatus until 2006, while she worked in cinema on films such as The Cement Garden. In 2006 Gainsbourg's much anticipated second album 5:55, was well received, going platinum in France. Working with artists like Air and Jarvis Cocker, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, this album was reminiscent of her bawdy father, in touching upon sexual themes and imagery.

Gainsbourg's crossover from French to Anglo cinema around this time was impressive, gaining roles in films such as the Bob Dylan movie, I'm Not There as well as Michel Gondry's The Science Of Sleep. More recently, Gainsbourg starred in the stunningly disturbing yet remarkable Lars Von Trier movie, Antichrist, alongside Willem Dafoe.

In IRM, there's a departure from the more sensual wraithlike quality imparted on Gainsbourg by her parents, and a more independent and different sound that is more personal and experimental. Produced and written by Beck (who just so happens to be a big Serge Gainsbourg fan himself), IRM has an eclectic mix of different styles. Obviously taking note from her father, Gainsbourg has never been afraid of genre bending, and as her partner in crime, Beck provides his signature mastery of tempo and rhythm to accompany the stark and minimalistic vocals. In some tracks the “Beck sound” is highly noticeable, particularly in the albums title track IRM, Heaven Can Wait (in which the two share a duet) and the speedy, over caffeinated track Greenwich Mean Time a definite standout of this album, which is bouncy, ominous and based around an eerie tic-toc sound. In tracks like La Collectionneuse (a gorgeous piano driven lounge track that sounds both classic and cosmic) and Vanities Gainsbourg's voice seems to blend with the music perfectly, creating a sort of all encompassing and liquid effect. However, the pop hit song of this album is unquestionably the pervasive Trick Pony with a jangling, dark tambourine beat and vague, secretive lyrics like: “X.X. the eyes/C.C. rider riding/from the morning tide/to the far horizon/sic sic the wolves and hope it don't get ugly/my trick pony he don't know me he don't know me at all” with trippy, echoing back up vocals and screeching guitar, it's actually kind of a surprise Gainsbourg and Beck didn't choose it for their debut video. From start to finish IRM is an album that encompasses nostalgia and apprehension in an intricate way, an anxious psych album with a soft femininity that is both fearful and warm.

For more information on Charlotte Gainsbourg: www.charlottegainsbourg.com