Music Review: Scarlett Johansson, “Anywhere I Lay My Head” (Rhino)
Rating: 65
Because Scarlett Johansson is an actress whose notoriety as a singer is mostly tied to the “Saturday Night Live” skit “Deep House Dish,” her debut disc of Tom Waits covers, “Anywhere I Lay My Head,” is being met with outsized hostility. In truth, Johansson lent her vocals to a classicist tribute to 4AD records’ gauzy Gothic aesthetic, sequenced by 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell and produced by TV on the Radio’s David Sitek. If it had been credited to Watts-Russell’s This Mortal Coil, “Anywhere I Lay My Head” might be heralded as a work of resurgent genius.
Because of the preponderance of aural haze, Waits fans will likely find little to love — songs such as “Fannin Street,” “I Wish I Was in New Orleans” and “Falling Down” are just frameworks for Sitek’s atmospherics. In these multi-tracked ethereal settings, Johansson’s vocals never have to rise above dreamy, Liz Fraser-like vagueness, and “Anywhere I Lay My Head” is suffused with it. For many fans of 4AD artists Harold Budd or Dead Can Dance, this could be a major selling point.
As such, “I Don’t Want to Grow Up” is the true standout, a lush dance track worthy of Cocteau Twins’ more energized moments, and with its clanging garbage dump percussion, “Green Grass” is most redolent of Waits’ work. Johansson supplies just one instrument in Sitek’s orchestral synth cacophony, which must make “Anywhere I Lay My Head” puzzling for celebrity watchers who probably thought they would be getting nothing but propulsive club mixes from “ScarJo.”
— George Lang
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Comments
Kev makes a strong point here. I started to mention Zooey in my review, but with my tendency to go on a bit — about Zooey and, well, everything else — I decided to stay on point for once.
Still, there is a real perception gap here. While Zooey has been in some seriously mainstream material such as “Tin Man” on Sci Fi and “Failure to Launch,” in which she was the absolutely only reason to watch, she is perceived as having indie cred. Scarlett has about the same breakdown in terms of mersh v. indie, but because she is much more high profile and has tabloid appeal, the perception is that it is outside her wheelhouse to make an indie rock record. It’s probably unfair for the public to perceive it as such, but it’s definitely playing lowball for critics to take this as gospel. You’re supposed to review the music on a pure level, not have your perception clouded by extraneous personality issues.
I’m interested in the knee-jerk reactions to this record and Zooey Deschanel’s “She and Him” projects. Most people I’ve talked to, before hearing the records, say something like “Zooey Deschanel has a record? I want to hear it!,” but Scarlett gets a “What is she thinking?” response.
It’s an interesting barometer of hipster cred. Maybe Zooey is still “indie” enough to where an attempt to make an album is stretching her creative legs, while Scarlet has crossed the line into cover girl stardom, so obviously her album is nothing more than an ego trip. Maybe it’s just the idea that it’s pretentious to cover Tom Waits on your first album, or maybe people are just more inclined to give Zooey a chance after hearing her sing in a couple of films.
Anyway, “She and Him” is a nice piece of work, if a bit fluffy. I haven’t heard “ScarJo” yet, but I admit I’m less curious about it than Zooey’s debut.