CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG + IRM

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG

IRM

[Elektra]

There’s a lot of baggage attached to the Gainsbourg name: Serge Gainsbourg was the enfant terrible of French erotic whisper pop, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to daughter Charlotte. Her previous 5:55 engaged the talents of Air and Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker to provide music and lyrics. This time it’s Beck who fills that role, bringing his whimsical sense of arrangement to the “Motorcycle Mama” soundalike “Dandelion” and the provocative “Le Chat du Café des Artistes.” IRM offers a kaleidoscopic series of moods that range from Beatles-esque psychedelia to sex-kitten frivolity. Gainsbourg is no vocal powerhouse, but her little-girl-lost helplessness adds a slice of vulnerability to songs like “Masters Hands,” the folk-inspired “Time of the Assassins” and the delicate “Vanities.” Beck seems to be the perfect partner to tap into Gainsbourg’s numerous idiosyncrasies, and as a result, the music is constantly interesting and unpredictable. –NK

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