Charlotte Gainsbourg
IRM
B-
I can’t say I was expecting too much from Charlotte Gainsbourg, the daughter of possibly the most famous pop singers of the last century, Serge Gainsbourg; if we can take anything from the collected works of second generation musicians it’s that shared DNA does not guarantee shared talent. Fortunately, IRM was pleasantly surprising, there are some definite high points, (tracks 1, 2, 11, and 12) but I can’t help but assume that producer Beck had a lot to do with that given that they sound pretty similar to his most recent releases. Overall, Gainsbourg’s third album leaves something to be desired. Her distinctively smoky voice makes even the most underwhelming class at least interesting. However, sometimes her near whispering voice seems to get overwhelmed by her instrumental backing and certain songs tend to really be dragging. At best the album is a winning compromise between the strange and spooky with some light-hearted pop influences while other songs are sleepy and underwhelming.
Best Tracks: IRM (# 2) Master’s Hand (#1) Dandelion (#11) Voyage (#12)
-- Tiare Dunlap
Host, "Girl, Please!" Fridays 4-6 pm on WGTB
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