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It’s a law that has been etched into the history of mankind. Countless people have challenged the rule, but among all the attempts, few have walked away with their dignity.  The law reads as such: “Actors and actresses shan’t make music.  If a celeb does decide to flex their music muscle, don’t expect to be impressed.”

As with every rule, though, a few exceptions have been made.

French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg is the latest thespian to test her musical fitness.  For her new album, titled “IRM”, the multi-talented entertainer records thoughts of life, death, uncertainty and fairness, all while filming her latest movie Anitichrist and having a brain hemorrhage medically treated.  It’s a tough task list to manage, but luckily Gainsbourg receives help with the album from musical mastermind Beck.  The cowboy/loser/space cadet takes production reigns on every track but one, and his presence emanates throughout the album.

IRM is filled with out-of-tune guitars, unidentifiable clicks and clacks from percussion instruments and hodgepodge production techniques.

The album opens with the loose twangs of a stringed instrument and light percussion, which are eventually worked into a tornado of sound.  It’s hard to identify whether the sounds are made with world instruments or mutilated American rock instruments, but the first song, much like the rest of the album, is held together by the soothing voice of Gainsbourg and the tribal-blues undertone that Beck is know to masterfully create.

Not every song on the album is a mosaic of garbled noises though; songs such as “In The End” are symphonic masterpieces.  Much like an ode to Beck’s album of heartbreak, “Sea Changes”, “In The End” is a song that climbs great emotional scales, with support from a string section and the warm honesty of Gainsbourg.  She sings, “Who’s to say it’s all for the best in the end?” during the refrain, which illustrates her vulnerability at the time of recording the album.

Most of IRM follows the same attitude.  The album was recorded in the wake of Gainsbourg suffering a brain hemorrhage after a skiing accident. Undergoing many MRIs over a sixth month period, Gainsbourg channeled the experience for talking points.

The title track on the album is a direct response to her MRI scans.  “Take a picture, what’s inside? / Ghost image in my mind / Neural pattern like a spider / Capillary to the center,” Gainsbourg chants to the tribal beats.  Eerie, groovy and futuristic, “IRM” is a track that could easily be dismissed by the casual listener, but will be noted by those with more keen ears.  Gainsbourg’s lyrics speak to her relationship with the noisy machine, and evoke a tangled battle between the human experience and the vast capabilities of technology.

What is a tuned instrument?  What isn’t?  How can melodies be derived from the most hideous sound in the world?

These are questions that are answered on Gainsbourg’s album, one of the most underestimated albums of the past six months.  Gainsbourg and Beck are a perfect match on an album that is as conceptual as it is forthright.

To hear more about Gainsbourg’s creative process from the artist herself, click here.

via Loudersoft.com