Rest is the fourth studio album by French and British singer and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. It was primarily produced by French electronic musician SebastiAn, and released on 17 November 2017 by Because Music and Atlantic Records. It is her first studio album in eight years, and features collaborations with Paul McCartney, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Owen Pallett and Connan Hosford, among others. The tracks "Rest" and "Deadly Valentine" were released as singles and music videos, both directed by Gainsbourg herself.
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."E.W.: In “Rest”, Charlotte Gainsbourg explores the sharp edges of grief. The Economist (2017). The lyrics are in English and French.Anna Gaca: Video: Charlotte Gainsbourg – “Rest”. Spin (2017)
Background When they first met, SebastiAn told Gainsbourg that he would like to work with her but that he wanted the project to be done in French, but she refused to do so. A year later, Gainsbourg, after the death of her sister Kate Barry, contacted him again and told him that she would like to say certain things and that she could only say them in French. Thus, they started working on Rest in New York.
Critical reception
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. Olivia Horn of Pitchfork awarded the album a "Best New Music" designation, claiming "it is at once scorchingly intimate and fantastically oversized". Exclaim!s Anna Alger praised Gainsbourg for striking "a balance between sombre beauty and a mix of Euro disco, funk and pop."
Accolades Publication Accolade Rank Albumism 50 Best Albums of 2017 BrooklynVegan Top 50 Albums of 2017 Drowned in Sound Favourite Albums of 2017 Flood Magazine The Best Albums of 2017 Earbuddy 100 Best Albums of 2017 Noisey The 100 Best Albums of 2017 Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2017 The 20 Best Pop and R&B Albums of 2017 The Independent 30 Best Albums of 2017 The Guardian The Best Albums of 2017
Track listing All lyrics written by Charlotte Gainsbourg; all music composed and produced by SebastiAn; except where noted.
Personnel
Musicians Charlotte Gainsbourg – vocals SebastiAn – synthesiser , drum programming , piano , harpsichord , bells , organ , synth bass , Rhodes , bass guitar , Wurlitzer , backing vocals , guitars , clavinet Emile Sornin – guitars , Mellotron , bass guitar , clavinet , harpsichord , Philicorda , Wurlitzer , glockenspiel , noise , percussion , tambourine Alice Attal – backing vocals Skyler Pierce Scher – backing vocals Rachel Kay McCain – backing vocals Elisabeth Sophia Seiple – backing vocals Vincent Taeger – drums Paul McCartney – guitars , piano , additional drums
Strings and horns SebastiAn – arrangement Owen Pallett – arrangement, conducting Nadia Sirota – fixing, viola Kabir Hermon – recording Anna Elashvili – violin Annaliesa Place – violin Laura Lutzke – violin Patricia Kilroy – violin Pauline Kim Harris – violin Rob Moose – violin Gabriel Cabezas – cello David Nelson – trombone Rachel Drehmann – French horn
Technical Tom Elmhirst – mixing Joe Visciano – mixing assistance , engineering Brandon Boost – mixing assistance , engineering Eric Chedeville – mixing , engineering Sebastian – engineering Emile Sornin – engineering Julien Naudin – engineering Antoine Poyeton – engineering Drew Brown – engineering Phil Joly – engineering Beatriz Artola – engineering Joakim Bouaziz – engineering Gus – engineering Florian Lagatta – engineering Laury Chanty – engineering assistance Chab – mastering
Artwork Collier Schorr – photos Nathalie Canguilhem – creative direction Raphaël Garnier – graphic design
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2017–18) Peak position
Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 118 French Albums (SNEP) 156 Chart (2018) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 123 French Albums (SNEP) 188
Certifications
Notes
References