Gainsbourg worked for four years, mainly in New York, with producer Sebastian Akchoté (known as SebastiAn) on her fifth studio album, titled Rest. Rest is a portrayal of her feelings after her father Serge Gainsbourg and her half-sister Kate Barry's death, with the theme of alcohol addiction. About the album, she said "The album took a different direction. I wanted to express [my grief] not only with sadness but with anger." The lyrics are in English and French. In September 2017, music videos for the singles "Rest" and "Deadly Valentine" were released, both are directed by Gainsbourg herself. The music videos feature her children. The album was released on 17 November 2017. A companion EP for Rest was released the following year, titled Take 2. Gainsbourg additionally featured on Akchoté's second studio album Thirst in November 2019.
