Irm

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A lot happened to Charlotte Gainsbourg between the release of 5:55 and IRM. Along with appearing in I'm Not There as one of Bob Dylan's wives, a 2007 water skiing accident pushed her brain to the side and filled her skull with blood, a condition that should have killed or paralyzed her. After emergency surgery, Gainsbourg was fine physically, but still convinced she could die at any moment, undergoing several MRI scans to prove she was all right. She also took one of her most daring roles as an actress, appearing in Lars Von Trier's uncompromising film Antichrist as a violently deranged, grieving mother who disfigures herself and her husband. This mix of fragility and boldness is also the heart of IRM, Gainsbourg's collaboration with Beck. As with 5:55, which featured Nigel Godrich, Jarvis Cocker, and Air, her choice of collaborators is perfect, but the results couldn't be more different. Where her previous album was ethereal and ephemeral, IRM is exciting and eclectic. Beck and Gainsbourg bring out the best in each other: His songwriting and production are so sympathetic and wide-ranging that he's like a director guiding Gainsbourg to inspired performances. Meanwhile, she brings an emotionality and presence to Beck痴 flights of fancy that make them more grounded than they would have been as his own songs. IRM still offers plenty of beautiful French atmosphere, but it痴 more mussed than on 5:55: The way the strings turn from romantic to a little sinister on the slinky 鏑e Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes� is decidedly jolie laide, while 鏑a Collectioneuse� is as eerie as it is lovely. However, the album delivers much more than looser versions of where Gainsbourg has been before. IRM痴 title track is a hallucinatory meditation on Gainsbourg痴 post-surgery experiences that incorporates the sound of MRI scans (IRM is the French abbreviation of MRI) with a tribal, distorted beat and detached vocals that are closer to Broadcast than any of her previous music. Elsewhere, she dives into deceptively simple folky pop with 溺e and Jane Doe� while 典rick Pony白s breathy sexuality and strutting beats feel like Beck repaying the favor of sampling Serge Gainsbourg痴 溺elody Nelson� on Sea Change痴 撤aper Tiger.� The pair gets more daring as IRM unfolds, with Beck casting Gainsbourg as a world-weary siren on 泥andelion白s bluesy shuffle, and a sneering rebel on the brittle 敵reenwich Mean Time,� which makes more noise than all of the songs on 5:55 put together. Gainsbourg痴 mental and physical healing process unites the album痴 experiments, making them personal. 滴eaven Can Wait白s joyful stomp is self-explanatory, but when she sings 土ou could learn to crawl where you used to walk・on 天anities,� or 的t doesn稚 take a miracle to raise a heart from the dead・on 典ime of the Assassins,� it adds even more depth. Playful, heartfelt, and unexpected, IRM gives Gainsbourg痴 music a new lease on life. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi