IRM

Who could have expected Charlotte Gainsbourg to follow up the genital mutilation of Antichrist with a collection of catchy baroque pop songs that—at times—rivals the work of her father, Serge? Well, Beck for one thing. The sea changing musician wrote the music, co-wrote the lyrics, produced, and mixed IRM, Gainsbourg’s third album. His impress is all over the music, sounding sometimes like a more focused Odelay, sometimes like a sweeter Mutations. In spite of its producer’s influences, the eclipsing shadow of her father, and whatever the hell went on in Antichrist, this is Charlotte Gainsbourg’s album. And it’s a powerful album.

Before summer 2007, Charlotte Gainsbourg was best known as the daughter of gallic godhead Serge Gainsbourg, a curiously magnetic actress with a diverse CV (romantic comedies, dark dramas, period pieces), and a part-time singer still working in the shadow of a mildly pedophilic 1984 duet recorded with her father called "Lemon Incest". Then Charlotte Gainsbourg nearly died. Weeks after a minor water skiing accident, she went to the doctor with heada ches only to learn her hemorrhaged head was filled with blood.