Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM

2/5 stars
Album review by Billy Hamilton.
Published 19 January 2010

The reason Charlotte Gainsbourg’s new LP sounds just like a Beck record is because that’s almost exactly what it is. The one-time shearer of Lucifer's barnet has his paws all over IRM (a backwards reference to the scan that detected Gainsbourg's cerebral hemorrhage in 2007).

Gone are the ethereal overtones and lilting mews of 5:55, replaced by Mr Hansen’s penchant for woozy urban blues, bulging with percussion and reverb. In some ways it’s a minor success; heavenly cuts Me and Jane Doe and La Collectionneuse find the French songstress carefully ladling her gentle purr over each polished arrangement. But below this dazzling swoosh is the painful reality of somebody craving mainstream popularity.

The shiny veneers of Heaven Can Wait and Greenwich Mean Time freeze glacially, each lacking the warm, earthy glow that Gainsbourg once emitted. Instead of rendering a canvas on which she can excel, Beck paints a disjointed portrait of a conflicted chanteuse. [Billy Hamilton]

 

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  • Dang. That's a shame. 5:55 rocked my little Francophile socks. I'm still going to give it a whirl, though- you can't stop me, Hamilton...!

    Posted by Lauren Mayberry | Tuesday January 2010 @ 13:16

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  • I thought Air's static arrangements for 5:55 were far more glacial than anything on IRM, I'm really digging this record... but then Beck could write for Cheryl Cole and I'd listen to it.

    Posted by Ian Crichton | Tuesday January 2010 @ 15:06

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  • You can preview/listen/whatever the entire album right now on npr. www.npr.org

    Posted by Anonymous | Wednesday January 2010 @ 22:20

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  • I have to agree. I so love Charlotte's 5:55 album and will never tire from it.. I finally purchased IRM yesterday and I couldn't even go on and finish listening to it.. I will go back and finish it off when I am in the right mind frame. I totally honour when a songwriter or singer wants to play with different styles out there but somehow, this just doesn't work with Charlotte.. perhaps a different avenue would have done her better.. Sometimes I like doing a marathon of listening to one artist I like but these two albums are such that I really wouldn't be in the mood to listen to IRM after 5:55.. it would disrupt my peace. :( Sorry Charlotte, I love you.... please come out with another album which has the magic as found in 5:55.. rich and timeless.

    Posted by Anonymous | Friday July 2010 @ 16:45

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  • I love Charlotte Gainsbourg. Partly it's because of her movies — but mostly it's her underbite.she is unconventional-looking, and it was seeing her on screen that made me realize a woman didn't have to conform to every convention in order to be beautiful.
    www.bestloansecured.net

    Posted by Marvine | Monday July 2010 @ 20:37

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