Search - Charlotte Gainsbourg :: 5:55

Atmospheric.

starschaser | Boston, MA | 06/07/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Her mother Jane Birkin added her breathy, orgasmic tones to her father Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus".

And the family resemblances are unavoidable in Charlotte's album, that voice hesitant, barely a whisper at times, but shimmering with sexiness.

What saves this album from being a lot of Gallic mumblings bound up in its own self-importance is the heavweight help the family name commanded.

The result of Gainsbourg's meeting with Nicolas Godin, one half of French electronica duo Air, at a Radiohead concert in Paris, "5:55", is a carefully crafted gem.

Charlotte's voice is as slight and breathy as her mother's, but lyrics by Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon create a hazy, Gauloise-inflected intimacy against full, string-rich arrangements by producer Nigel Godrich, those Parisian maestros of wafting electronica "Air" are on board, as is "Radiohead" producer Nigel Godrich and Nigerian percussionist Tony Allen, lauded by Brian Eno as "the greatest musician on the planet".

The title track "5:55" and the first single "The Songs That We Sing stand out", the former haunting and piano-led, the latter carrying an infectiously boisterous chorus.

At times Charlotte's thin voice and finishing-school vowels can grate, but the album as a whole is emotive, rewarding and compelling - a world away from feather-strewn beds and dodgy filial duets.

We get the mildly erotic, such as the teasing "Beauty Mark", and we get something like beat poetry in "AF607105", with its stark lines about air travel.

There's also big helpings of the kind of wistful balladeering only the French can muster.



4 * * * * and 1/2.



The Originals

Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg

Songs That We Sing

L'Effrontee

Golden Door

"

Ummm....Wow!

Cale E. Reneau | Conroe, Texas United States | 04/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They say if you're not any good at singing, you should surround yourself with the best musicians you can find. Time after time, this little method of canceling out one's vocal flaws has worked with almost no one noticing. So when I first heard that Charlotte Gainsbourg, a rather accomplished (or at least, talented) actress, was making an album with the help of the guys from Air, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and the one and only Jarvis Cocker, my first thought was that I was in for another lesson in "How Not to Sing." But I was terribly mistaken. As it turns out, Charlotte Gainsbourg is extremely talented. And wouldn't you know it? "5:55" is beautiful!



While not possessing the most powerful voice ever captured on an album, Gainsbourg does a brilliant job of blending her vocals in with Dunckel and Godin's Air-ish compositions. She accomplishes this by half-whispering most of her lyrics, but it sounds absolutely perfect. On the title track, "5:55," she sings, "Soon the morning will arrive. Can I begin another day whilst this old day is still alive, refusing to be put away," so beautifully that it feels like she's singing only for you. This brilliant lyric is penned by Cocker, as he and Hannon share most the songwriting duties on the album.



"The Operation" is perhaps the standout track on the album. It utilizes a steady electronic drum beat to accompany a great piano composition and bass line. The highlight of the song comes about half way through when the music drops out to leave Charlotte whispering, "Our love goes under the knife. Nothing is taboo here on the cutting edge of science..." It is yet another fantastic song.



'The Songs that We Sing" is the first time the album crosses into near-pop territory (later revisited in "Everything I Cannot See"). The music itself feels like it could've been ripped right off of one of Neil Hannon's albums. The song begins with an upbeat piano line and a xylophone syncopating along with it. Here, Gainsbourg asks the question, "And the songs that we sing, do they mean anything to the people we're singing them to?" over well-composed chord progression. "Beauty Mark" is a lesson in minimalism. The percussion on the song is largely forgotten in favor of creating the kind of lush soundscapes that have defined Air's sound for so many years. In what is extremely reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic short story, "The Birthmark," Gainsbourg sings, "This little death, this mark of sin, forever painted on my skin" over swells of strings.



The album is filled with examples of how my initial hypothesis was wrong. In fact, every song on this album is so gorgeous that it's hard to believe that Gainsbourg hasn't set aside her acting career in favor of this pursuit. Indeed, she is an unbelievably talented individual, and "5:55" is evidence of that. Of course, one could make the argument that without the talents of her constituents the album would not be near as good. My response is, who cares? "5:55" is amazing from the time you press play to when the final second ticks off. That's quite an achievement, and one that should not go unnoticed.



Recommended for fans of Air, Zero 7, and anyone who wants to define "beauty" more accurately.



Key Tracks:

1. "5:55"

2. "AF607105"

3. "The Operation"

4. "The Songs that We Sing"

5. "Little Monsters"



9 out of 10 Stars"

Nice, but could have been much more

Briana | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 08/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a general rule, actresses that decide to take up singing don't usually fare too well with me. Their albums almost always come across as vanity projects, trying too hard to get attention from either the mainstream or the "hipster crowd." Knowing this, I was rather cynical when a friend recommended Charlotte's "The Songs That We Sing." This particular friend had pretty good taste and liked a lot of things that I also went for, so I tracked down the song and hoped it would be worth my time. To my surprise, it was actually pretty good! Shortly afterward, I decided to give the full album a try, hoping it would avoid the "singing actress" cliches and be as good as "The Songs That We Sing."



At first glance, there's not really much to complain about with this album. Charlotte's voice is pleasant, the music is relaxing, and most of the lyrics are pretty decent. "AF607105," "The Operation," "Little Monsters," and the aforementioned "The Songs That We Sing" even border on being great. "Everything That I Cannot See," with its swirling piano, is also a treat to hear.



However, something seems to be missing, and that keeps this disc from being more than just average. Truly fantastic albums have a certain "something" about them that keeps me coming back for more, and I don't really get that feeling with this one apart from a few tracks. Too much of this album plays it safe musically, which is a disappointment. For example, I can never really recall what "Beauty Mark," "Morning Song," "Jamais," or "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" sound like.



Despite these complaints, this is definitely not a bad album. There are some very nice moments on here. However, I can't call it spectacular either. Perhaps it just hasn't found me in exactly the right moment to fall completely in love with it, but for now I rate it a solid three stars."