Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM

Charlotte Gainsbourg
IRM

I slightly shiver when IRM lands in my lap. I’m excited at hearing the concept behind this kooky actress’ album. I’ve never heard her music before, despite this being her third offering. Her previous album, 5:55, released in 2006, sold half a million copies worldwide. Produced by Nigel Godrich of Radiohead fame, it features songs written for her by the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Air.

My enthusiasm about Gainsbourg comes from watching her in films such as The Science of Sleep, opposite hunky Gael García Bernal, in Bob Dylan’s biopic I’m Not There and in creepy horror film Antichrist. Her background reads like a script: it’s almost like Gainsbourg is destined for stardom. She was born from a passionate and creative pairing between her beautiful mother, Jane Birkin – actress, model and singer – and the diverse and controversial performer and director Serge Gainsbourg, who passed away nearly twenty years ago. I assume this Anglo-French girl will offer dreamy, edgy, alternative music on IRM.

And at times, I’m not disappointed. The opening track ‘Master’s Hand’ has good pace. Gainsbourg whispers over plucky guitar and layers of consistent drumming – very Beck-esque. The eccentric American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, also a fan of her father, produced and wrote most of the album. It oozes with postmodern ideas, samples, and drum machines.

The title track, full of mechanical buzzing, whirring and ghostly vocals, reflects back to the head injury Gainsbourg sustained in 2007. This theme runs throughout the album. IRM is the French word for MRI, the medical scanning machine. While her brain was being examined, she was thinking about the chaotic rhythm of music – this track is like a psychedelic road trip.

The doe-eyed maiden has a sweet, non-Americanised accent. When she sings in French, her voice is whispery and sexy. ‘Le Chat du Café Des Artistes’, originally released by French Canadian singer-songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland in the 70’s, harks back to a sultry, English vision of the French. It booms like a Bond theme. The collaboration with Beck on ‘Heaven Can Wait’ is a simple, catchy little number, but the rest of the album flits between short sugar-coated songs and tracks that don’t really stand out. Imaginative lyrics litter IRM but elements have all been heard before.

‘Vanities’ is quite haunting. Harping water sounds float between high-pitched strings but ‘Time of the Assassins’ is quite droning, stuck on a basic structure. ‘Time Pony’ is grungy, edgier, same as ‘Greenwich Mean Time,’ but you can never really tell if she can sing with force, passion and vigor. ‘Voyage’ has swaying Spanish-type rhythms and ‘La Collectionneuse’ is one of the more memorable tracks; its consistent piano melody finishes the album well.

Gainsbourg is obviously a creative lady with a love of music; after all, she made her debut, Charlotte for Ever, with her dad at the age of 15. She is a versatile actress and is professional and sleek in front of the cameras. But IRM is quite an inconsistent jumble of ideas with a nervous intimacy. For the moment she remains relatively unknown. This will probably change, though, as she is headlining Latitude Festival in the summer. It will be interesting to see her perform this live.

By Kristina Georgiou

IRM is out now on Because Music/Elektra.