Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM Vinyl 2LP+CD

Reissue of Charlotte Gainsborg's 2009 collaboration with Beck! At the time of IRM's recording the singer had recovered from a near death experience. A seemingly benign water skiing accident had caused a brain hemorrhage that filled her head with blood. After successful brain surgery she filmed three intense movies including Lars von Trier's shocking Antichrist, which found the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin walking around pants less before mutilating her genitals. She was still so haunted by her near death that she went on to have multiple MRIs (which the French call IRMs and thus the albums title) to make sure her brain was OK. All of this trauma produced a record that was a far cry from the lovelorn Air produced, Jarvis Cocker written 2006 LP 5:55. Beck, who himself seems to be preoccupied with his own extinction, provides the perfect counterpart for Gainsborg's stoic defiance of death. The lyrics he writes create ample room for Gainsborg to explore the fears and anxieties of each of our implicit ends. As for the production there are traces of Beck's trademark psych rock, blues, rap informed cadences, and ghostly ballads. IRM created the window for Charlotte Gainsborg to move out from under her father's shadow; still inherently sexy, but with a new lease on life.

• double vinyl reissue
• CD version included
• music label: Because Music 2009 / 2015

reviewed by Michu Meszaros 12/2012