After jumping at the chance to appear in one of the nastiest films in recent memory - Lars von Trier's masterpiece of cruelty Antichrist - many have found themselves wondering what goes on inside the French singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg's head. In fact, it's a question people have been asking for quite a while - the artist has rarely shied away from controversy. So news that Gainsbourg's third album was inspired by an MRI scan (or IRM, as they're called in France) that diagnosed a near-fatal brain haemorrhage, could mean that we're finally about to discover how that rather artistic skull of hers works.
Or maybe not. Because it wasn't Gainsbourg who supplied the lyrics and music for IRM - but the alt-folk wizard Beck.
It's a collaboration that, for the most part, works incredibly well. The US singer/songwriter's woozy compositions and scattershot lyrics fit Gainsbourg's oddball personality and ghostly vocals perfectly. The opener Master's Hand sets out the album's intentions clearly. Its percussive flurries, yearning strings and seductive vocals paint a portrait of the artist with all her idiosyncrasies, even if the details are a little blurry.
Beck's distinctive vocals don't show up in earnest until someway into the record, duetting with Gainsbourg on Heaven Can Wait. The song, with its singalong chorus, crashing drums and even a few horn blasts, quickly becomes the album's centrepiece. But like much of the rest of the record, Gainsbourg's quivering vocals seem conspicuously low in the mix - most noticeable here because of Beck's presence on the microphone.
Despite sometimes seeming a little lost in the record's ample production, which includes string arrangements by Beck's father, David Campbell, on the moving Vanities, there's enough of Gainsbourg to shine through in most of the tunes.
A number of the songs even see the pair moving into territory that feels completely new for both artists. It's a place that exists in between the worlds of folk and electronic music, where the two genres don't clash but exist in perfect harmony. It's the sort of delicate sound that the British group Broadcast have been crafting for a few years now and is particularly evident here on the title track IRM, as well as Me and Jane Doe.
Later on, the record gets bombastic with Trick Pony. Although the song impressively evokes Portishead's latest opus at first, it quickly descends into something more generic and closer to Goldfrapp.
Although IRM never really sets a foot wrong - as we have come to expect with any project Beck associates himself with - the album feels slightly short on standout moments. Sure, Gainsbourg has never been about showing off, but her performance sometimes feels remarkably restrained.
Despite this, it's an album with plenty of bewitching and subtle moments. If the pair don't find themselves collaborating again in future, they need their heads examined.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre flat-six twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 445bhp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh474,600
On Sale: Now
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
