The Review

Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Mosaic

Media Credit: Courtesy of Amazon.com [Click to enlarge]

"5:55"
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Vice
Rating: 3 and 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Like many actors these days, Charlotte Gainsbourg is making the transition into the music world. However, as the daughter of famous French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, Charlotte is no stranger to the business. With music by French electronica composers Air and lyrics written by Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon, "5:55" is an album to keep an ear out for.

Charlotte's soft vocals mix with the delicate instrumentation of Air's compositions to form a pop album that sounds more like jazz than bubble-gum. The album's single, "The Songs That We Sing," stands out lyrically as one of the more reflective pieces on the album. Gainsbourg sings, "I read a magazine / It said at 17 your life is at an end / I'm dead and I'm perfectly content / And these songs that I sing do they mean anything / To the people I'm singing them to / People like you."

"5:55" is an album that mixes French and English lyrically, but is not just for the Francophiles. It's album with a sound that's pleasing to all who like well-written, cascading songs.

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