ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Charlotte Gainsbourg
IRM BECAUSE MUSIC 25.01.10 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
Sometimes when doing these reviews you have to scratch around for something vaguely interesting to say about the artist. On other occasions the subject is just so interesting that it makes things ridiculously straight forward. For starters being the daughter of infamous hell-raising troubadour Serge; was likely to guarantee an intriguing life under a media spotlight. After suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2007 during a waterskiing accident, as part of her post-op treatment she had to undergo numerous MRI scans. This was indirectly the inspiration for this new album – when contemplating a return to the studio; she found that the sound of the scanner had continued to resonate with her. The album title refers to the French language version of an MRI scanner. Although this was a freebie, I do feel a little short changed (if that’s possible) as the disc I have is only a 10 track album sampler and therefore is 3 tracks short of the full album - It’s also a different track listing to the official release to the masses. Despite reading that Gainsbourg has a reputation for being a ‘difficult’ listen, I found the lilting acoustic melodies and sweetly soothing vocals of my opening track ‘Me & Jane Doe & Rousseau’ to be gorgeously lovely. On her last album, 2006’s moderately successful ‘5:55’ she collaborated with French electronic duo Air, with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon providing lyrical input – an intriguing combination. And on this new album Beck is at the co-writing and production helm. His influence is keenly felt on tracks like ‘Looking Glass Blues’ and ‘Trick Pony’ – awkward rhythms and bluesy riffs accompany Gainsbourg’s deadpan yet delicate echoing delivery. The sessions for this album were recorded just after filming for her role in Lars Von Trier’s controversial art-house horror flick ‘Antichrist’ (for which she won the best actress award at Cannes last year.) This may account for the solemn mood on some tracks, but that’s certainly not detrimental in my opinion. A lot of this album is certainly not easy listening or 2 minute bubblegum pop. Lead single choice ‘Heaven Can Wait’ is the most immediately accessible track and there are more luscious acoustic numbers such as ‘Time of The Assassins’ and ‘In the End’ which are very easy to enjoy. But some of the more ambitious and sophisticated tracks demand your full undivided attention before dispersing their plentiful rewards on your eternally grateful ears. Very little pop music these days gets classed as ‘art’, and if an artist has a leaning towards a more cultured approach then they quite often get disparagingly labelled art-y or pretentious. This album is slightly arty and at times slightly pretentious but it’s also slightly wonderful. www.charlottegainsbourg.com |
