IRM (album)
2009 studio album by Charlotte Gainsbourg
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IRM is the third studio album by French electropop singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, with all songs written and produced by Beck except "Le Chat Du Café Des Artistes" (written by Jean-Pierre Ferland). The album title was inspired by the French initialism for an MRI scanner.[4] The title track was released as a free download on 9 October 2009.[5] The album was mostly recorded at Beck's home studio in Los Angeles, California.[6] The lead single is "Heaven Can Wait", a duet with Beck, and was released on 2 November. The music video for "Heaven Can Wait" was directed by Keith Schofield and was released on 19 November 2009.[7] The video for "Heaven Can Wait" was named one of the Top 20 best music videos of 2009 by Spin Magazine.[8]
- Anonyme (Los Angeles)
- Blue Mountain (London)
- Capitol (Hollywood)
- The Library (North Hollywood)
- Ocean Way (Los Angeles)
- Wack Formula (London)
| IRM | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 December 2009 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:27 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Beck Hansen | |||
| Charlotte Gainsbourg chronology | ||||
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| Singles from IRM | ||||
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"Trick Pony" is featured in the football video game by EA Sports, FIFA 11 and the Amazon Prime Video drama series My Lady Jane.
According to Gainsbourg, IRM "was Beck's view of what I had gone through, and not mine."[9]
In 2012, it was awarded a Diamond certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 200,000 copies throughout Europe.[10]
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.2/10[11] |
| Metacritic | 80/100[12] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[14] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [15] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[16] |
| The Guardian | [17] |
| The Independent | [18] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [19] |
| Pitchfork | 8.4/10[20] |
| Rolling Stone | [21] |
| Spin | 7/10[22] |
The album currently has a Metacritic score of 80/100 based on 21 professional reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Beck Hansen, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Master's Hands" | 2:49 | |
| 2. | "IRM" | 2:35 | |
| 3. | "Le Chat du café des artistes" | 4:03 | |
| 4. | "In the End" | 2:00 | |
| 5. | "Heaven Can Wait" | 2:41 | |
| 6. | "Me and Jane Doe" | 3:21 | |
| 7. | "Vanities" | 3:38 | |
| 8. | "Time of the Assassins" | 2:46 | |
| 9. | "Trick Pony" | 2:53 | |
| 10. | "Greenwich Mean Time" |
| 2:25 |
| 11. | "Dandelion" | 3:18 | |
| 12. | "Voyage" | 4:05 | |
| 13. | "La Collectionneuse" |
| 5:15 |
| Total length: | 41:27 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Looking Glass Blues" | 2:42 |
| 15. | "Heaven Can Wait" (Chris Taylor Remix) | 2:15 |
| Total length: | 46:24 | |
Note
- ^[a] "La Collectionneuse" contains extracts from Guillaume Apollinaire's Alcools and Le Guetteur mélancolique poem collections.
Personnel
Musicians
- Charlotte Gainsbourg – vocals (all tracks), flute (track 10), piano (13)
- Beck Hansen – guitar (1, 3, 5–7, 9–11), drum programming (1, 2), vocals (2, 3, 5, 6, 8–10, 13), bass guitar (2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12), synthesizer (2, 3), percussion (3, 5, 6, 9, 10), piano (3, 5, 10), acoustic guitar (4, 8, 12); marimba, recorder (6); keyboards (12), keyboard bass (13)
- David Campbell – string arrangements, conductor (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11–13)
- Drew Brown – drum programming (1, 2), bass guitar (1), string arrangements (2), effects (12, 13); keyboards, strings (13)
- Matt Mahaffey – banjo (1)
- Justin Meldal-Johnsen – percussion (1)
- Joey Waronker – drums (2, 3, 6, 8, 10–12), percussion (2, 3, 6, 10, 12)
- Brian LeBarton – drums (2), celeste (4, 10), bass guitar (5, 10), percussion (5, 6, 12, 13), tambourine (5), marimba (6), synthesizer (8), drum machine (10), piano (11)
- James Gadson – drums (2, 3, 13)
- Matt Sherrod – drums (2, 5)
- Alex Acuña – percussion (2, 12)
- Bram Inscore – bass guitar (4, 7, 8, 11), celeste (4)
- Jason Falkner – acoustic guitar (4), guitar (8)
- David Ralicke – saxophone (5, 11)
- Matt Demeritt – tenor saxophone (5, 11)
- Chris Bautista – trumpet (5, 11)
- Monique McGuffin – harp (7)
- Alice Attal – voice (10)
Technical
- Beck Hansen – production
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Drew Brown – mixing, engineering
- Darrell Thorp – mixing, engineering
- Rouble Kappor – engineering assistance
- Wesley Seidman – engineering assistance
Artwork
- Nathalie Canguilhem – art direction
- Audrey Prudhomme – design
- Fouad Allaoui – design
- Raphaël Garnier – design
- Autumn de Wilde – photography
- Jean-Baptiste Mondino – photography
- Nick Knight – photography
- Paul Jasmin – photography
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position[23] |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) | 8 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) | 35 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 27 |
| Danish Albums Chart | 39 |
| French Albums Chart | 4 |
| Greek Albums Chart | 13 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 46 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 28 |
| UK Albums Chart | 62 |
| US Billboard 200 | 69 |
| US Billboard Top Rock Albums | 16 |
| US Billboard Top Digital Albums | 25 |
| US Billboard Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums | 11 |
| US Billboard European Albums Chart | 73 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 4 December 2009 | CD | ||
| France | 7 December 2009 | Because Music | CD | |
| Switzerland | 7 December 2009 | CD | ||
| Canada | 8 December 2009 | Warner Music | CD | |
| Germany | 11 December 2009 | CD | ||
| Brazil | 22 January 2010 | CD | 825646842476 | |
| United Kingdom | 25 January 2010 | Because Music | CD | BEC5772602 |
| CD+DVD | BEC5772603 | |||
| LP | BEC5772607 | |||
| United States | 26 January 2010 | Elektra | CD | |
| Argentina | 11 February 2010[24] | Warner Music | CD |
Sunset Sound EP
On 13 April 2010, Gainsbourg released a five-track EP called Sunset Sound EP, which contains four songs from IRM recorded live at Sunset Sound Recorders with Beck Hansen.[25]
Promotional tour
To promote IRM, Gainsbourg embarked on her first live tour by performing at several venues, music festivals and television shows in North America, Europe and Asia.[26][27][28][29]
- 9 December 2009 – Taratata on France 2
- 10 December 2009 – Le Grand Journal on Canal+
- 11 December 2009 – Taratata on France 4
- 19 January 2010 – The Bell House, Gowanus, Brooklyn
- 20 January 2010 – The Bell House
- 22 January 2010 – Theater of Living Arts, Philadelphia
- 22 January 2010 – Late Show with David Letterman
- 23 January 2010 – Exclusive concert and interview for Canal+ (France)
- 23 January 2010 – The Hiro Ballroom, New York City
- 28 January 2010 – Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW
- 11 April 2010 – Vogue Theatre, Vancouver
- 12 April 2010 – Elemental Night Club, Victoria, British Columbia
- 14 April 2010 - Live performance on KEXP-FM
- 14 April 2010 – Crocodile Cafe, Seattle
- 15 April 2010 – Wonder Ballroom, Portland, Oregon
- 17 April 2010 – Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
- 18 April 2010 – Coachella Festival, Indio, California
- 21 April 2010 – Park West, Chicago
- 23 April 2010 – Olympia, Montreal
- 24 April 2010 – Olympia, Montreal
- 25 April 2010 – Webster Hall, New York City
- 14 June 2010 – Le Cargo, Caen
- 15 June 2010 - La Coopé, Clermont-Ferrand
- 16 June 2010 - La Cigale, Paris
- 19 June 2010 - Cirque Royal, Brussels
- 20 June 2010 - Aeronet, Lille
- 22 June 2010 - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
- 24 June 2010 -Les Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon
- 27 June 2010 - Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg
- 28 June 2010 - Volksbühne, Berlin
- 29 June 2010 - Malta Festival, Poznań
- 2 July 2010 - Eurockéennes, Belfort
- 3 July 2010 - Den Atelier, Luxembourg City
- 4 July 2010 - Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux
- 8 July 2010 - La Cigale, Paris
- 9 July 2010 - La Cigale, Paris
- 10 July 2010 - Les Ardentes, Liège
- 13 July 2010 - Théâtre J Deschamps, Carcassonne
- 14 July 2010 - Traffic Festival, Turin
- 15 July 2010 - Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, Benicàssim
- 16 July 2010 - Les Francofolies de La Rochelle, La Rochelle
- 18 July 2010 - Latitude Festival, Southwold
- 24 October 2010 - Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo
- 26 October 2010 - IMP Hall, Osaka