#14. Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM
Charlotte Gainsbourg is pretty well-respected as an actress, and that’s primarily how I’ve thought of her up until now – I’m especially a fan of her magnificent and horrifying turn in Antichrist – but she’s also fairly established as a singer. I’ve kind of known that in the back of my head for a while, but for some reason never thought to check out her music career until this year, likely when one of the music blogs posted the video for “Time of the Assassins” (see below). I’m very glad I finally got around to it.
IRM is a bit off the track from what I usually listen to, with unusual rhythms and melodies, yet even the tracks that I would consider quite outside my usual comfort zone (like the title track with its spare but almost overpowering percussive elements) somehow capture me and won’t let go. Tracks like “Time of the Assassins” had me instantly with the lush instrumentation and evocative melody. I can’t say all the songs connect with me totally, but throughout them all Charlotte’s voice is such a lovely combination of fragility and determination that it’s hard to turn your attention away from it. Much like Charlotte the actress in that way.