French singer Helena Noguerra sings the songs of songwriter/painter/novelist Serge Rezvani on Fraise Vanille, and if none of that means much to you, it’s okay. I’d never heard of Rezvani before hearing this CD, which I first plugged into because it features producer/artist Bertrand Burgalat on vibes. Burgalat’s luxurious music combines elements of retro electronica with lounge and soundtrack music to bring to mind the era of Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot.

Fraise Vanille is less thoroughly anchored in the past, though Seb Martel’s production treats Helena’s voice as a sex object, just as Gainsbourg did with Birkin and Bardot. Even when she is singing children’s song melodies, Helena sounds breathy and beautiful. Rezvani’s melodies are less urban, some obviously coming from folk songs and, to a lesser degree, the café tradition. The arrangements, though, are clearly contemporary, and the instrumentation is obviously geared to each song. On “La Vie De Cocagne,” she is accompanied by a trombone and a drummer playing a street parade rhythm, while “Blues Indolent” is defined by a Spanish guitar and cocktail piano, and a mandolin in the background during the chorus. Since there is no trombone or mandolin player listed in liner notes, both sounds are likely electronically generated, further underscoring the album’s post-modern sensibility.