Serge Gainsbourg

Released in 1975 on the Philips label, Rock Around the Bunker is perhaps one of the most disturbing and bewildering albums in Serge Gainsbourg’s discography. True to his taste for paradox and provocation, Gainsbourg tackles the horrors of World War II and the rise of Nazism set against a backdrop of cheerful 1950s-style rock’n’roll. A jarring juxtaposition of light-hearted form and deeply troubling content.

Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg in 1928 to Russian-Jewish parents, was personally scarred by the Nazi occupation during his childhood. This album is, in many ways, a deeply personal work—one laced with black humor, irony, cynicism, and an unmistakable underlying discomfort. Beneath the sharp wordplay and absurd imagery lies a genuine attempt to exorcise trauma through music.

Sonically, Rock Around the Bunker deliberately adopts a retro sound: twangy guitars, sugary backing vocals, boogie piano, and vintage brass sections evoke the carefree spirit of 1950s America—yet the lyrics tell a far darker story. Gainsbourg deliberately uses Nazi imagery in a satirical, yet deeply unsettling way, blurring the line between mockery and shock.