Rest (Charlotte Gainsbourg album)
Rest is the fifth album by French musician and actor Charlotte Gainsbourg. It was primarily produced by French electronic musician SebastiAn, and released on 17 November 2017 by Because Music. It is her first album release in six years, and features collaborations with Paul McCartney, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Owen Pallett and Connan Mockasin, among others. The tracks "Rest" and "Deadly Valentine" were released as singles and music videos, both directed by Gainsbourg herself.
Rest | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 17 November 2017 | |||
Studio |
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Length | 46:23 | |||
Language |
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Label | Because | |||
Producer | Sebastian[lower-alpha 1] | |||
Charlotte Gainsbourg chronology | ||||
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Singles from Rest | ||||
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The album explores the deaths of Gainsbourg's father Serge Gainsbourg and half-sister Kate Barry, with a focus on the theme of alcohol addiction. She has commented that "the album took a different direction. I wanted to express [my grief] not only with sadness but with anger."[1] The lyrics are in English and French.[1][2]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10[3] |
Metacritic | 80/100[4] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B+[6] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Observer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10[10] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uncut | 8/10[14] |
Rest received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 80 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 22 reviews.[4] Olivia Horn of Pitchfork awarded the album a "Best New Music" designation, claiming "it is at once scorchingly intimate and fantastically oversized".[10] Exclaim!'s Anna Alger praised Gainsbourg for striking "a balance between sombre beauty and a mix of Euro disco, funk and pop."[15]
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
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Albumism | 50 Best Albums of 2017 | 11 |
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BrooklynVegan | Top 50 Albums of 2017 | 29 |
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Drowned in Sound | Favourite Albums of 2017 | 64 |
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FLOOD | The Best Albums of 2017 | 5 |
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Earbuddy | 100 Best Albums of 2017 | 13 |
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Noisey | The 100 Best Albums of 2017 | 99 |
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Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2017 | 17 |
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The 20 Best Pop and R&B Albums of 2017 | 5 |
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The Independent | 30 Best Albums of 2017 | 24 |
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The Guardian | The Best Albums of 2017 | 31 |
Track listing
All lyrics written by Charlotte Gainsbourg; all music composed by Sebastian; except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Ring-a-Ring o' Roses" | 4:28 |
2. | "Lying with You" | 3:18 |
3. | "Kate" | 3:40 |
4. | "Deadly Valentine" | 6:04 |
5. | "I'm a Lie" | 3:29 |
6. | "Rest" (lyrics written by Gainsbourg and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo; music composed by de Homem-Christo) | 3:38 |
7. | "Sylvia Says" (lyrics written by Gainsbourg and Sylvia Plath) | 4:27 |
8. | "Songbird in a Cage" (written by Paul McCartney) | 4:32 |
9. | "Dans vos airs" (music composed by Sebastian and Connan Hosford) | 3:33 |
10. | "Les Crocodiles" (music composed by Sebastian and Hosford) | 3:17 |
11. | "Les Oxalis" | 7:57 |
Total length: | 46:23 |
Personnel
Musicians
Strings and horns
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Technical
Artwork
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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France (SNEP)[37] | Gold | 50,000![]() |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Notes
- Except "Rest", produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Additional vocal production and editing by Brian Burton on "Lying with You", "I'm a Lie", "Dans vos airs" and "Les Crocodiles".
References
- E.W.: In “Rest”, Charlotte Gainsbourg explores the sharp edges of grief. The Economist (2017).
- Anna Gaca: Video: Charlotte Gainsbourg – “Rest”. Spin (2017)
- "Rest by Charlotte Gainsbourg reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- "Rest by Charlotte Gainsbourg Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- Phares, Heather. "Rest – Charlotte Gainsbourg". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- Waite, Kelsey J. (17 November 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rest". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (16 November 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest review – musical chameleon finds her voice". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- Hutcheon, David (December 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest". Mojo (289): 89.
- Mongredien, Phil (19 November 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest review – bags of style, not enough substance". The Observer. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- Horn, Olivia (17 November 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- Oldham, James (January 2018). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest". Q (380): 109.
- Dolan, Jon (20 November 2017). "Review: Charlotte Gainsbourg Takes Spacey Trip With Sir Paul, Half of Daft Punk". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- Hodgkinson, Will (10 November 2017). "Pop review: Charlotte Gainsbourg; Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier". The Times. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- Mueller, Andrew (December 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest". Uncut (247): 27.
- Alger, Anna (14 November 2017). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: Rest". Exclaim!. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- "ALBUMISM SELECTS: The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Albumism.com. 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
- "BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2017". Brooklynvegan.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
- "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- "FLOOD | The Best Albums of 2017". Floodmagazine.com. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
- "The 100 Best Albums of 2017 - VICE". Noisey.vice.com. 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
- "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Pitchfork. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- Katherine St. Asaph (2017-12-19). "The 20 Best Pop and R&B Albums of 2017". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
- The Independent Staff (27 November 2017). "30 Best Albums of 2017". The Independent. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- The Guardian Staff (5 December 2017). "The best albums of 2017: the full list". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- "Austriancharts.at – Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
- "Ultratop.be – Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- "Ultratop.be – Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- "Charlotte Gainsbourg Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 47, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2018. 14. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- "Top de l'année Top Albums 2017" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- "Top de l'année Top Albums 2018" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- "French album certifications – Charlotte Gainsbourg – Rest" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 7 March 2018.