Rating: NN
Charlotte Gainsbourg’s Beck-produced IRM was a stellar sleeper gem of an album, but this follow-up sounds tossed together.
As a singer, the French star is graceful and airy but limited. IRM worked because its zany arrangements, samples and psyched-out effects perfectly accentuated her detached style. This collection, cobbled together from the IRM studio sessions and live recordings from Gainsbourg’s first-ever North American tour, highlights her weaknesses as a performer.
The first half is structured like a standard-order pop record, front-loaded with uptempo numbers like Terrible Angels and Paradisco (both produced by Beck), followed by increasingly plaintive tunes that never muster enough emotion or energy to come fully alive.
The album’s live half, meanwhile, is dull. Kookier IRM cuts Heaven Can Wait and IRM have the unambitious, plodding feel of karaoke backing tracks, while the stripped-down tunes benefit from the simplicity but are vocally tepid.
Top track: Paradisco
