REVIEW: Charlotte Gainsbourg @ The Royale 4/7
By Christian Jaeger
British-French singer Charlotte Gainsbourg brought her bizarre, original sounds and pop-rock style to Boston’s Royale Sunday, April 7.
Gainsbourg, the 47-year-old actress and musician, released her fifth studio album, Rest, in 2017. Capturing anger, sadness, and mourning in a record, she portrays the death of her sister, Kate, and father, Serge. On Rest, she further explores her unique style, blending electro-pop, rock, and soft, whisper-like storytelling over heavy, psychedelic beats.
Gainsbourg has five records under her sleeve — Charlotte for Ever, 5:55, IRM, Stage Whisper, and Rest. Her father, French artist and icon Serge Gainsbourg, collaborated with her on Charlotte for Ever, forming the roots of her career in 1986.
Since Charlotte for Ever, Gainsbourg became an actress, appearing in international films such as Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac and Antichrist. After a twenty-year break, Gainsbourg released her second album, 5:55, in 2006 and has been further expanding her music career.
Sunday’s concert drew Boston’s French population to see their beloved artist. “Parles français?” was easily the phrase of the night, for more than half of the concertgoers were French natives or spoke fluent French.
Taking the stage at 8:30 p.m. and traveling light with no opening act, Gainsbourg strutted on wearing a white tee over classic blue jeans, matching her five bandmates. She would begin at the piano for “Lying with You,” a track off of 2017’s Rest that demonstrates her experimental style.
Next, the musical act would perform three other songs from Rest, “Ring-a-Ring o’ Roses,” “I’m a Lie” and “Sylvia Says.” The first is a perfectly grim take on a nursery rhyme, where “I’m a Lie” and “Sylvia Says” are some of Gainsbourg’s groovier tracks.
“Bombs Away” and “Deadly Valentine” — the artist’s rock-discos — would get the non-dancers in the audience to join their jiggy, jumping neighbors.
On Rest, Gainsbourg pays tribute to her sister, Kate, who died in 2013. Gainsbourg uses narrative storytelling over a gorgeous rock melody on “Kate,” where she whispers hauntingly over slow techno beats on “Rest.”
She took an interesting leap covering “Runaway” by Kanye West, an odd choice for her style and aesthetic; however, the challenge further proved her diversity in the field.
Long-time fans in the audience and French natives would enjoy “Charlotte for Ever,” a track from her first record in 1986. Gainsbourg would close her set with “Lemon Incest,” a bizarre but beloved song by French crowds; the song — originally a duet with her father — alluded to an incestual relationship.
Gainsbourg hasn’t failed to take part in controversial subject material; Nymphomaniac and other films reveal her fearlessness in front of a camera, and Rest and other records show her bravery in discussing real, raw material — some deemed unsuitable in the public eye.
The artist has a good, steady history behind her and a well-paved road ahead. Gainsbourg’s tour will continue until July 27, including Coachella and other music festivals.