Forget every stereotype you’ve heard about actresses who pursue music careers. Accomplished French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg could have existed in the French pop scene her whole life.
The daughter of French pop connoisseur Serge Gainsbourg and actress/singer Jane Birkin, she recorded 1983’s Charlotte For Ever at thirteen. 5:55 is technically her second record, and it bears many differences to the debut that her late father wrote.
For her first record as an adult, she had an all-star lineup to help her. Electronic outfit Air arranged most of the music and ex-Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker and Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon wrote most of the lyrics. Nigel Godrich, who is known for his work with Radiohead and Beck, produced it. The result is a polished electronic album with cinematic tendencies.
Whether she’s singing about feeling complete in a plane crash in “Af607105” or growing up lonely in “Little Monsters,” Gainsbourg’s vocals on top of Air-like soundscapes are gorgeous. Her vocal style throughout the record seductively combines French- and English-spoken words with simple melodies.
Title track “5:55” sounds like it could be a bonus track from Air’s Pocket Symphony due to its careful orchestration and dreamlike, atmospheric sound. “Everything I Cannot See” is undeniably pretty like the closing track to a classic romantic movie. Undoubtedly, her musical lineup makes 5:55 – it’s wonderful, and would’ve been just as amazing if Air released it and featured her as a guest vocalist.
– Kristine Capua
Charlotte Gainsbourg (Vice Records)