Scarlett Johansson: Anywhere I Lay My Head

Let's take a moment to set aside the months of

mockery and premature backlash leading up to the release of Scarlett

Johansson's first album—an 11-song collection dominated by Tom Waits

covers—and cast it in a different light. Imagine Dave Sitek of TV On The

Radio creating an avant-garde easy-listening tribute to Waits. Ambient

soundscapes build slowly, adding and losing elements like tinkling bells, tinny

drum machines, and twangy guitars. On those terms, the album has its

problems—tracks like "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" sound like late-'80s dance

music of the most disposable kind, and the sum effect is kind of

sleepy—but it still plays as an interesting experiment.

The biggest problem with Scarlett Johansson's

debut is that it features Scarlett Johansson's singing. She isn't a

traditionally talented vocalist, which in itself can be fine. (Waits wouldn't

exactly tear it up on American Idol either.) But she isn't much of an interpreter,

either; she brings the flat, throaty tones of the heavily drugged to songs that

beg for passion. With different material, her minimalism might work in her

favor. The single original, a smoky, Mazzy Star-recalling track called "Song

For Jo," swirls her limitations into the mix, suggesting that she might have

songs to sing someday. Just not Tom Waits' songs.