The French Pop Update

A couple of days ago, I decided to give Charlotte Gainsbourg’s new record 5:55 a listen. Her being the daughter of French pop royalty Serge Gainsbourg sparked my curiosity, and the inclusion of Air, Nigel Godrich, and numerous others as songwriters and producers motivated me to devote my all too abundant free time to a couple of listens. And after those listens, I’ve realized I downloaded an album that’s not bad, but certainly not good. As a whole, it comes off as a perfect cliché of what one would expect from a project involving a French actress and Air.

Let’s start with what’s glaringly obvious. Ms. Gainsbourg’s voice is breathy and light in a way that leaves a lot to be desired in terms of personality. It seems to take countless cues from not only the women her father recruited to sing with him, but also Air. Personally, one thing I look for in vocals because it can portray this quality so strongly is the character of a singer or band if of course it’s done well. Listening to this record, I find no personality whatsoever except for someone trying especially hard to do as her fellow French colleagues and predecessors have already done a few times before.

The production and also much of the backing tracks seem to use Air’s Talkie Walkie as a starting point from which all ideas emanate. Although it is in fact Air’s Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel who penned the music for the album, I would expect them to differentiate one project from another especially when it carries someone else’s name. I will give them some credit though: when the songs pick up some steam and move away from slow ambient pop, the songwriting does begin to show some marked differences. In most songs, however, the piano sits in the forefront becoming the primary supporting instrument for Charlotte Gainsbourg’s vocals using so many variations on the arpeggios we heard in Talkie Walkie. Check out “Little Monsters” and between the piano and the synthesized strings and beats, you’ll begin to wonder which record you’re actually listening to. You may even mistake the beats in the intro for those at the beginning of “Universal Traveler.” Production can also be compared in the same way. Ambience in 5:55’s title track practically mirrors what someone can find in “Venus” except that strings offer a slight timbral alternative to the synthesizers we’re used to.

As a fan of French music, I’m certainly not disappointed by 5:55, but as someone that demands a certain level of originality as well as personality from music, I have no reason to come back to the album after a few cursory listens.